Telegram CEO has been arrested by French police. This information was first published by the French broadcaster TF1 TV, citing an anonymous source.
According to media reports, Durov landed at Le Bourget Airport in his private jet on Saturday evening. After that, he was arrested as soon as he came out of the airport, according to the warrant.
According to the BBC , the 39-year-old Russian-born Durov is the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram. He was arrested by French police on a crime warrant related to the app.
Russian news agency TASS reported that the Russian embassy in France was taking “immediate action” over Durov’s arrest. They are primarily trying to understand the situation. Durov holds citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.
According to The Guardian , Durov was detained around 8pm after landing at the airport after traveling from Azerbaijan. He will be produced in court on Sunday.
Telegram is very popular in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Union countries. Durov left Russia in 2014 when he was forced to hand over the app’s database to the Russian government. Since then, he lives in Dubai and runs it from there.
The Russian government banned Telegram in 2018. But it was withdrawn in 2021.
Telegram is the most popular social media in the world after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat. Founded in 2013, the social media platform is expected to reach 1 billion users by 2025. In the recent reform movement, the app has become very popular among the youth in Bangladesh as well.
