Founder of Telegram encrypted messenger exiled Russian internet guru Pavel Durov was arrested as he got off his private jet in France, TF1 and Le Monde reported on August 25.

Durov holds a dual French citizenship since 2021 was reportedly arrested in the airport of Le Bourget outside Paris, accompanied by his bodyguard and assistant, as they were making a stopover on the way from Azerbaijan on the way back to his home in St Petersburg.

A search warrant was issued against him by French investigators for various offences involving his encrypted messaging service, sources close to the case told Le Monde.

The sources also expressed surprise that Durov would travel and disembark in France knowing that he was wanted in the country. France does not extradite its citizens and if convicted of the charges he will remain in a French jail.

Reportedly, the search warrant has been under an investigation involving various services, for Telegram not doing enough to prevent offences ranging from fraud, drug trafficking, cyber-bullying and organised crime to apology for terrorism and fraud, according to the sources of Le Monde. “Enough of Telegram's impunity”, one of the unnamed investigators told the daily.

 

Durov famously puts almost no restrictions on the content shared on his service. In its terms of service Telegram forbids the sharing of illegal content in public groups, but implicitly suggests that content can be shared in private groups. As a result the service, which offers reportedly uncrackable end-to-end encryption, has been popular with various criminal groups as a secure means to conduct illicit business.

Most recent reports suggested that Telegram was looking for solutions to comply with European regulation. Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) was reportedly set to become the supervisory body responsible for Telegram messenger’s operations across Europe. BIPT criticised Telegram for failing to comply with the supervision requirements of a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP).

 

In the meantime, in Russia, this week Telegram has been disrupted in Russia in a possible targeted blocking attempt, and independent media warned that Telegram could be falling out of favour with the Kremlin now. Speeds for the delivery of YouTube’s video streaming service dropped by 70% at the end of July and both Telegram and WhatsApp services have been disrupted since.

Durov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $15.5bn, himself was rumoured to have sought a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Baku, Azerbaijan. A recent law on bloggers with over ten thousand followers requires social networks and messengers to register with Roskomnadzor and block those who don't make a deal with the agency.

 

He was reportedly trying to meet the Russian president to prevent Telegram from being blocked in Russia. Publicly, the Kremlin press service said that Putin refused the meeting, but the Kremlin I increasingly interested in promoting its control over the internet and has allied with various companies, led by VK, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, which is run by Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of former Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko and current deputy head of the presidential administration.

A recent law on bloggers with over ten thousand followers requires social networks and messengers to register with the Russian regulator, Roskomnadzor, and block those who don't make a deal with the agency.

As followed by bne IntelliNews, Durov has recently revived his media efforts and gave a number of interviews. In the latest interview with right-wing American journalist Tucker Carlson he again denied the links between Telegram and Kremlin and reminded that he had to flee to Dubai for refusing to disclose data on his users to Russian security services.

But there are a growing number of questions over Durov autonomy from the Kremlin. Wired reported that the FSB has arrested citizens for making defamatory remarks about Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine, after reading their private messages on Telegram – messages the FSB theoretically have no access to.

Durov successfully defied the FSB in 2018, which ordered him to hand over the electronic keys that allow access to read the uncrackable encoded messages. When Roskomnadzor communication watchdog attempted to block Telegram, the technologically superior Durov simply started hopping servers making it impossible to stop the service. Roskomnadzor did, however, manage to block its own site by mistake as part of the effort.

However, in 2020 Telegram made a surprise comeback on the Russian business scene, as the messenger app has been unblocked in Russia after a two-year stand-off with the security services and legislators.

Investigations into the funding of Telegram, which has over 700mn subscribers, but never made a profit, revealed that amongst the investors are David Yakobashvili, the founder of juice-maker Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, and oil oligarch Roman Abramovich, who is also close to Putin.

Notably, the state sovereign Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the state owned VTB bank have also both invested over $1bn into the bonds issued by the messenger, which raised concerns over Durov's willingness to cooperate with the Kremlin.

Telegram of Russian internet guru Durov quickly gained new subscribers in Russia after the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine and amid the blocking of foreign social networks.

Prior to launching Telegram in 2013, Durov founded Vkontakte (now known as VK Group), Russia's largest social network in 2006. The businessmen worked as the company's director general but was squeezed out of the company in April 2014. Shortly before he left Durov sold 11.99% of his shares to Megaphone's CEO and tech investor Ivan Tavrin, who has become one of the main beneficiaries of Western assets redistribution after the Russian full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

Tavrin later sold his stake to Mail.ru Group, controlled by now sanctioned billionaire Alisher Usmanov who owned almost 40% of VKontakte. Mail.ru Group also acquired the VKontakte share from UCP fund and became the sole shareholder of the social network. Consequently Usmanov sold his stake in Mail.ru to state owned compnaies as his USM Group exited media assets, increasing the state's grip over the Internet.

Durov is due to appear in a French court on August 26 for his arraignment.