Paris [France], August 27: French President Emmanuel Macron affirmed that there was no political motive in the arrest of Pavel Durov , founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, on the evening of August 24, according to Reuters.
"The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place within the framework of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is not a political decision but a decision made by judges," Macron wrote on the social network X.
In a subsequent statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Mr Durov, 40, had been arrested as part of an investigation into an unnamed person launched by the prosecutor's office's cybercrime unit on July 8.
That investigation involves alleged complicity in various crimes, including operating an online platform that enabled illegal transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as refusing to provide information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, according to a statement from French prosecutors.
Mr. Durov may be detained until tomorrow, August 28, according to the statement. There is no information yet on the reaction of Mr. Durov's lawyer.
Telegram is a popular messaging and social media app similar to WhatsApp. Telegram, with nearly 1 billion users, is particularly influential in Russia , Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.Mr Durov's arrest has drawn criticism from X's owner, US billionaire Elon Musk, who said freedom of speech in Europe was under attack.
Mr Durov holds French and United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizenship. In its initial response to Mr Durov's arrest , the UAE Foreign Ministry said it had sent a request to France "to provide him with all necessary consular services on an urgent basis".
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
