French authorities arrest Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at a Paris airport, French media report
Nice (France), Aug 26: The founder and CEO of the messaging service Telegram was detained at a Paris airport on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses, French media reported on Sunday.
Pavel Durov, a dual citizen of France and Russia, was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday evening after landing in France from Azerbaijan, according to broadcasters LCI and TF1.
Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office, attached to the French customs department, notified Durov, 39, that he was being placed in police custody, the broadcasters said.
Durov's representatives couldn't be immediately reached for comment.
French prosecutors declined to comment on Durov's arrest when contacted by The Associated Press on Sunday, in line with regulations during an ongoing investigation.
French media reported that the warrant for Durov was issued by France at the request of the special unit at the country's interior ministry in charge of investigating crimes against minors. Those include online sexual exploitation, such as possession and distribution of child sexual abuse content and grooming for sexual purposes.
Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother in the wake of the Russian government's crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.
The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, adopting regulations that forced internet providers to block websites and cellphone operators to store call records and messages that could be shared with security services.
In the increasingly repressive environment, Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news. In 2018, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor moved to block Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption keys, but ultimately failed to fully restrict access to the app.
Telegram continued to be widely used — including by government institutions — and the ban was dropped two years later. In March 2024, Roskomnadzor said that Telegram was working with the Russian government to a certain extent and had removed more than 256,000 posts with prohibited content at Roskomnadzor's request.
Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war, and deliver missile and air raid alerts.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Sunday.
A French judicial official suggested that Durov could appear before a judge later Sunday to determine whether he will remain in custody. The official wasn't authorised to be named publicly during an ongoing investigation.
“If the person concerned is to be brought before a judge today, it is only in the context of the possible extension of his police custody measure — a decision that must be taken and notified by an investigating judge,” the official said.
Western governments have often criticised Telegram for lack of content moderating on the messaging service, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and allowing the sharing of content linked to sexual exploitation of minors.
Compared to other messaging platforms, Telegram is “less secure (and) more lax in terms of policy and detection of illegal content”, said David Thiel, a Stanford University researcher, who has investigated the use of online platforms for child exploitation, at its Internet Observatory.
In addition, Telegram “appears basically unresponsive to law enforcement”, Thiel said, adding that messaging service WhatsApp “submitted over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023 (and) Telegram submits none”.
In 2022, Germany issued fines of 5.125 million euros (USD 5 million) against the operators of Telegram for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said that Telegram FZ-LLC hasn't established a lawful way for reporting illegal content or named an entity in Germany to receive official communication.
Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.
Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.
Russian government officials expressed outrage at Durov's arrest, with some highlighting what they said was the West's double standard on freedom of speech.
“In 2018, a group of 26 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others, condemned the Russian court's decision to block Telegram,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“Do you think this time they'll appeal to Paris and demand Durov's release?” Zakharova said in a post on her personal Telegram account.
Officials at the Russian Embassy in Paris had requested access to Durov, Zakharova told Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti, but she added that French authorities view Durov's French citizenship as his primary one.
In a statement to the AP earlier this month, Telegram said that it actively combats misuse of its platform.
“Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring and user reports in order to remove content that breaches Telegram's terms of service. Each day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed,” the company said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ex-CJI Chandrachud removed fear of law from political defectors, claims Sanjay Raut
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, alleging that he had removed the fear of the law from politicians who defected from parties in Maharashtra.
Raut claimed that by not deciding on the disqualification petitions, Chandrachud kept doors and windows open for defections.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader's statement comes after his party faced a severe drubbing in the state assembly elections, as it managed to clinch only 20 out of 95 seats it contested as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The performance of the party's alliance partners was no better, with the Congress winning only 16 out of 101 seats and NCP (SP) getting only 10 out of 86 seats it contested.
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged, "He (Chandrachud) has removed the fear of the law from defectors. His name will be written in black letters in history."
Following the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022, the party's faction headed by Uddhav Thackeray filed petitions in the Supreme Court on the disqualification of party MLAs who defected along with Eknath Shinde. The apex court put the onus on the assembly Speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions, which he did earlier this year, declaring the Sena bloc led by Shinde as the “real political party”.
Raut alleged that the results of the assembly election were pre-decided. If the then CJI had decided on the disqualification petitions on time, the outcome would have been different.
"We are sad but not disappointed. We will not leave the fight incomplete. Division of votes was also a factor, and the RSS played an important role in the election. The poisonous campaign impacted us negatively," he said.
He said the swearing-in ceremony for the new government should be held in neighbouring Gujarat.
Meanwhile, in his weekly column "Rokhthok" in the party mouthpiece "Saamana", the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader claimed that it was time to offer condolences to the Election Commission, which turned a blind eye to the use of money power.
"The courts have been in the ICU for a long time," he alleged.
