PARIS — A French investigating judge has extended the custody of the CEO of popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Twelve charges were brought on Saturday at Le Bourget airport, as part of a judicial investigation opened last month, which concerns facts attributed to twelve people, including complicity in the sale of child pornography and drug trafficking, fraud, complicity in organized criminal transactions and refusal to communicate information or documents to investigators when required by law.
According to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office, Mr Durov’s custody was extended Monday evening for a maximum of 48 hours. After this period, the authorities will have to release him or prosecute him, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Russian government officials have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and evidence of the West’s double standards on freedom of expression. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics, as Russian authorities themselves attempted to block Telegram in 2018 but failed, lifting the ban in 2020.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that Durov’s arrest was not a political decision but part of an independent investigation. Macron told X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but that “freedoms are respected within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
The UAE foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was “closely following the case” and had asked France to provide Mr Durov with “all necessary consular services on an urgent basis”.
The Russian embassy in Paris said consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities consider his French citizenship to be his primary nationality.
Telegram, which claims to have nearly a billion users worldwide, was founded by Durov and his brother after he himself came under pressure from Russian authorities.
In 2013, he sold his stake in VKontakte, a popular Russian social networking site he launched in 2006.
The company came under pressure during the Russian government’s crackdown on mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow in late 2011 and 2012.
Durov said authorities demanded that the site remove online communities of Russian opposition activists and then hand over the personal data of users who took part in the 2013 popular uprising in Ukraine that ultimately toppled a pro-Kremlin president.
Durov said in a recent interview that he had rejected these demands and left the country.
The protests prompted Russian authorities to crack down on the digital space, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share information.
Telegram also continues to be a popular source of information in Ukraine, where media outlets and officials use it to share information about the war and broadcast warnings of missiles and air raids.
In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it complied with EU laws and that its moderation was “in line with industry standards and constantly improving.”
“It is absurd to claim that any platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of this platform,” Telegram said in its message. “Nearly a billion users worldwide rely on Telegram as a means of communication and a source of vital information. We expect a quick resolution of this situation. Telegram is with all of you.”
Western governments have often criticized Telegram for its lack of content moderation, which experts say opens the messaging platform to potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing material related to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany fined Telegram operators $5 million for failing to provide a legal way to report illegal content or to designate an entity in Germany to receive official communications. Both are required by German laws that regulate major online platforms.
