Telegram founder Pavel Durov, got arrested by French authorities on August 24, alligated for violations of the encrypted messaging platform.
According to French local media outlets and Le Monde, the CEO got arrested at Le Bourget airport north of Paris after returning from Azerbaijan in his private jet.
Later, Le Monde, based on the inside information on the case, reported Durov’s arrest. However, a Bloomberg report which mentioned this said that Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also confirmed the news in a telegram.
French officials say that L’Office Mineurs (OFMIN), the agency that oversees crimes against children in France, had served a search warrant as part of a preliminary investigation on the app Telegram.
According to AFP, the alleged offenses include embezzlement, drug peddling, cyber harassment, and crime syndication. Some reports say that the scrutiny relates to the company’s inadequate ability to filter content.
OFMIN has taken a lead in the case involving Durov, and Telegram. It was expected that the CEO of the messaging platform would be in court on the 25th of August. Some reports claim that due to the gravity of the offenses stated Durov can get up to 20 years of imprisonment.
Pavel Durov’s arrest impacts Telegram
TON blockchain, the third-party network that is associated with the messaging of the telegram, published a statement on X, stating that the blockchain will not pause its operations during the time of Durov’s arrest.
“As a community committed to freedom of speech and decentralization, we stand firmly by Pavel during this challenging time.”
The company that runs the Telegram messenger, has not yet reacted to the arrest of Durov. Cointelegraph reached out to the messaging platform for clarification of the occurrence and to know whether there exists a possibility of the platform being compelled to share a user’s information with French authorities.
Owner of X, and Tesla Elon Musk also posted a video on X on Aug. 24 of Durov and journalist Tucker Carlson. During the interview, Durov appreciated Musk for taking over Twitter and providing everyone with the freedom of speech.
Buterin, who earlier slammed Telegram’s encryption, said he found the first information about the charges against the platform very bad and worrying for the future of software and communication freedom in Europe.
Durov Alleges U.S. Pressure to Control Telegram
In an interview with Carlson, Durov stated that having come to America, all sorts of feds and bureaus of the United States were interested in Telegram. He also said that during his most recent visit, U. S. officials attempted to lure one of his engineers.
“There was an attempt by cybersecurity officers or agents to secretly hire my engineer behind my back. They were curious to learn which open-source libraries are integrated into Telegram’s app, and they tried to persuade him to use certain open-source tools that would serve as backdoors,” Durov told Carlson.
