After his private jet touched down at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday, the 39-year-old billionaire, who was born in Russia and created the encrypted messaging software, was taken into custody.
It’s unknown why Mr. Durov was taken into custody, but according to TV, the warrant was issued due to a shortage of moderators on Telegram and potentially illegal activities, such as the distribution of child sex abuse content or the laundering of money.
Russian legislators have denounced his apprehension, with Maria Butina—who served as an unregistered Russian agent and was imprisoned in the US for 15 months—accusing Europe of attempting to take over Telegram.
After losing control of his former social network business Vkontakte (VK), Mr. Durov fled Russia in 2014.
He declined to provide security services access to information about Ukrainian protestors and to cooperate with government orders to close down opposition groups on the site.
In August 2021, he obtained French citizenship after relocating to Dubai in 2017.
According to Russian state news agency , the Russian embassy in France has also urged that Mr. Durov be granted consular access and that his rights be upheld.
