PANews reported on August 25 that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France and detained by agents of the French National Anti-Fraud Office, according to The Block, citing the well-known French news website TF1. Durov was arrested after traveling from Azerbaijan to Paris Le Bourget Airport, which specializes in serving private jets, with a woman and her bodyguard.
According to preliminary investigations, Durov is the subject of a search warrant issued by OFMIN, France's investigative agency for combating child sexual exploitation. News reports indicate that billionaire Durov rarely travels in Europe, perhaps to avoid being detained in this way, as the news site noted that his arrest warrant is only valid within France. TF1 predicts that Durov will likely appear before an investigating judge on Saturday evening and then be indicted on Sunday on "multiple charges: terrorism, drugs, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods, pedophile content," and possibly more.
An investigator from France’s National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), which has Durov in custody, told the news site: “Pavel Durov will end up in pretrial detention, that’s for sure… He has allowed countless violations to take place on his platform, and he has shown no relenting or collaborative attitude towards them.”
