Durov left Russia in 2014 when he was forced to hand over the app’s database to the Russian government. Since then it has been operated from UAE.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested by French police. He was arrested at an airport north of Paris on Saturday evening local time.
On Saturday evening, Durov landed at Le Bourget Airport in his private jet. After that he was arrested.
The 39-year-old Russian-born Durov is the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram. He was arrested by French police on a felony warrant related to the app.
The Russian Embassy in France is taking “immediate action” over Durov’s arrest. They are initially trying to understand the situation.
Telegram is very popular in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Union countries.
Durov left Russia in 2014 when he was forced to hand over the app’s database to the Russian government. Since then it has been operated from Dubai.
The Russian government banned Telegram in 2018. But it was withdrawn in 2021.
Telegram is the most popular social media in the world after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
Founded in 2013, the social media platform is expected to reach 1 billion users by 2025.
According to Forbes magazine, Pavel Durov became one of the richest people in the world by founding Telegram. Currently, his wealth is around 15 billion US dollars.