THE founder and CEO of Telegram has been arrested at an airport in France, reports say.
Cops reportedly detained billionaire Pavel Durov as he stepped off from his private jet following his arrival from Azerbaijan.
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Durov was arrested at around 8pm on Saturday at Le Bourget airport, in the outskirts of Paris, by gendarmes from the GTA (Air Transport Gendarmerie).
The 39-year-old Franco-Russian was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman, French outlet TF1 Info reported.
Durov had arrived straight from Azerbaijan, according to his wanted persons file.
The Telegram founder had above his head a search warrant issued by French authorities on the basis of a preliminary investigation.
Durov is a Russian-born entrepreneur and programmer best known for founding the social networking site VK (VKontakte) and the messaging app Telegram.
Born on October 10, 1984, in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia, Durov is often referred to as the “Russian Mark Zuckerberg” due to the similarities between VK and Facebook.
In 2006, Durov, along with his older brother Nikolai, launched VKontakte, which quickly became Russia’s most popular social network.
But his time at VK was not without controversy as Durov clashed with Russian authorities over demands to censor content and provide user data to the government.
In 2014, under increasing pressure, Durov was forced to sell his stake in VK and left the company.
After leaving VK, Durov focused on Telegram, a cloud-based messaging app that he and his brother Nikolai had launched in 2013.
Telegram became widely known for its strong emphasis on privacy and security, offering end-to-end encrypted messaging, channels for broadcasting to large audiences, and features including self-destructing messages.
Telegram’s commitment to privacy has made it popular with users around the world, but it has also attracted criticism from governments, which claim that the app is used by criminals and terrorists to communicate without detection.
Despite the challenges, Telegram has grown to hundreds of millions of active users and is a significant player in the global messaging market.
Durov is known for his libertarian views and has been outspoken about his beliefs in freedom of speech, privacy, and resistance to government surveillance.
After leaving Russia in 2014, Durov became a self-described digital nomad, living in various countries and maintaining his independence from any single government.
The billionaire has expressed opposition to Vladimir Putin’s government and the broader Russian political system.
His clashes with the Russian authorities, particularly during his time as the CEO of VKontakte (VK), highlight his stance.
Durov’s problems with the Russian government began when he refused to comply with demands from the Federal Security Service (FSB) to provide personal data of VK users who were involved in the 2011-2012 anti-Putin protests.
He also declined to shut down groups on VK that were used to organise protests against Putin’s government.
This defiance made him a target for Russian authorities.
In 2014, facing increasing pressure from the government and legal challenges, Durov was forced to resign from VKontakte and sell his shares in the company.
Shortly after, he left Russia and has since lived abroad, often criticising the Russian government from a distance.
