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Telegram founder Pavel Durov remains in police custody after being arrested in France two days ago on charges of crimes related to the messaging app, local media reported on Monday, citing investigators.
Durov, who is wanted in France and was arrested after arriving at Paris's Le Bourget airport on Saturday from Azerbaijan, was reportedly detained and extended on Sunday evening.
His arrest came amid an initial investigation into Telegram's failure to cooperate with law enforcement authorities regarding drug trafficking, fraud and child abuse on the social media platform, according to local media.
In a statement after Durov's arrest, Telegram said the online messaging service was compliant with EU laws and did not violate any regulations.
Telegram said in a post on its X site on Sunday evening that it “complies with EU laws,” including the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to ensure platforms quickly remove illegal content from their pages.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform,” Telegram said.
“Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” the company added.
Telegram has long faced accusations of not taking a strong enough stance against hate speech and other illegal activities.
The company said its modification was “within industry standards” and was “continuously improving.”
According to reports, French authorities have been investigating Durov for some time now, on suspicion of drug trafficking, fraud, and several child abuse-related crimes due to his failure to intervene in Telegram and insufficient cooperation with authorities.
It was not initially clear why Durov, who was born in Russia and holds French citizenship, traveled to Paris while he was wanted in France.
The Paris prosecutor's office initially declined to comment on the case.
The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement carried by the Russian news agency TASS that the Russian embassy in France had taken over the case.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the French authorities had requested consular access to Durov. “The only problem is that Durov also has French citizenship. Accordingly, France will primarily consider him as its own citizen,” she added.
Durov's relationship with the Russian authorities is difficult.
Durov and his brother Nikolai founded Telegram after launching VK, a Russian-language social media platform.
Telegram is one of the most important electronic networks in Russia and is used by many authorities and politicians.
Ukrainian authorities, politicians, and the military have also used Telegram extensively to spread information about the state of a full-scale Russian invasion.
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