Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, was detained by French authorities at an airport near Paris, as reported by CNN. Durov, who had an arrest warrant issued against him, was taken into custody by officers from France’s anti-fraud office, which is attached to French customs. The incident occurred on Saturday evening after Durov, 39, arrived at Bourget Airport on a flight from Azerbaijan, according to BFMTV, a CNN affiliate.

The French-Russian billionaire was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to allegations that the lack of moderation on Telegram allowed the platform to be used for activities such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of pedophilic content. BFMTV noted that Durov had not frequently traveled to France or Europe since the arrest warrant was issued.

French authorities issued the warrant for Durov on charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children, and fraud, citing his failure to moderate content on Telegram and his lack of cooperation with law enforcement, as reported by The Moscow Times, which referenced French local media.

Durov, originally from Russia and now based in Dubai, became a naturalized French citizen in August 2021. He is also known as the founder of the VKontakte social network. Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to share VKontakte users' data with Russian security services. Subsequently, Russia unsuccessfully attempted to block Telegram due to its refusal to provide users’ online communications to security services.

Telegram, which Durov claims has over 900 million users, is widely used by Russian speakers and has become a crucial platform for sharing information about the war in Ukraine. It is also reportedly used by the Russian military for communication.