French Court Extends Arrest of Russian Telegram Founder Durov on Suspicion of Promoting Terrorism

On Sunday, a court extended the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Russian messenger Telegram, who was detained on Saturday evening at Le Bourget airport in the Paris suburbs. 

He is suspected of promoting terrorism, fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and organised crime.

This was reported by AFP.

Durov was detained at around 20:00 CET on Saturday evening when he stepped off his private jet onto the runway at Le Bourget Airport. The 39-year-old Russian with a French passport was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman.

The Russian was reportedly detained for questioning and can be held for a maximum of 96 hours. When this period expires, the judge may decide to release Durov or to charge him and keep him in custody.

Durov was registered in the wanted list and came from Azerbaijan. France had previously issued a search warrant for him.

Investigators believe that Durov's lack of cooperation with law enforcement agencies, as well as the tools offered by Telegram, make him an accomplice in drug trafficking, paedophile crimes and fraud.

In France, Durov is accused of failing to take action against the criminal use of Telegram for messaging between subscribers, failing to moderate the service and failing to cooperate with the investigation.

‘Enough with Telegram's impunity,’ said one of the investigators, who was surprised that the billionaire, knowing he was wanted in France, decided to come to Paris anyway.

‘Perhaps because of a sense of impunity,’ suggested one of the sources close to the case.

It is noted that on Sunday, he is due to appear before an investigating judge to face possible charges for a number of offences.

As The Gaze previously reported, the Amsterdam authorities have banned Russian Telegram for civil servants due to the threat of espionage. The National Court of Spain also blocked the messenger.