(MENAFN-IANS) Paris, Aug 25 (IANS) Pavel Durov, billionaire co-founder and chief executive of Telegram, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening for suspected offences related to the popular messaging app, media reports said, citing police officials.
Durov travelled on board his private jet, television channel TF1 reported on its website, adding that there was an arrest warrant against him in France.
The 39-year-old apparently traveled from Azerbaijan and was arrested around 8 p.m. local time.
Durov was due to appear in court on Sunday.
The Russian-born entrepreneur lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates.
Durov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $15.5 billion (£12 billion), left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with demands to close opposition communities on his social media platform VK, which he subsequently sold.
Telegram did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The Russian embassy in France is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation.
Citing a representative of the Russian embassy in France, TASS reported that Durov’s team had not lodged any objections with the embassy, but that they were proactively taking “immediate” steps.
Durov and his brother Nikolai founded the messaging app in 2013 and it has about 900 million active users.
Telegram offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, and users can also set up “channels” to quickly spread information to followers.
The French agency OFMIN, which is responsible for preventing violence against minors, has issued an arrest warrant against Durov as the coordinating body in a preliminary investigation into suspected crimes including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promoting terrorism, a source familiar with the case said.
“End impunity at Telegram,” said one of the investigators, adding that they were surprised that Durov came to Paris knowing that he was a wanted man.
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