Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the Telegram application, was detained at Le Bourget airport in France this Saturday around 20:00 when he got off his private plane. 39-year-old Durov of French-Russian origin was detained together with a bodyguard and a woman.
Its maintenance was carried out by the French Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA). Pavel Durov was registered in the list of wanted persons (FPR) and was arrested when he left Azerbaijan. Durov was wanted on the basis of an investigation issued by the OFMIN unit of the French National Police.
According to an investigator, "Pavel Durov will definitely be kept in temporary detention." "Numerous crimes and violations have occurred on his platform, and Durov has taken no steps to monitor or cooperate with these cases," said a source familiar with the matter.
There is no doubt that Durov was temporarily arrested by a court decision. Billionaire Durov has enough financial means to escape, and his guarantees to answer before the court will not convince the judges.
Operation That Caused International Resonance
For investigators, this operation of international importance has several purposes. First, it aims to scare criminals among Telegram users and deter them from these activities. The second is to provoke European countries to increase security cooperation and force Telegram to cooperate more closely on terrorism cases.
Telegram is known as a major platform for criminal activities. Currently, Telegram is in the news for illegally broadcasting Ligue 1 football matches. However, there are many accounts involved in organized crime on this encrypted messaging app. In addition to terrorism, the most dangerous pedophile groups communicate and exchange content on Telegram. "Telegram has become the number one platform for organized crime for years now," an investigator noted.
It should be recalled that Pavel Durov was in Azerbaijan for several days. According to the published information, Vladimir Putin, who was visiting Baku at the same time, refused to meet with the founder of Telegram.
