Pavel Durov, the founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, was reportedly detained by French authorities on Saturday evening, Andrew Tate revealed on X, formerly called Twitter. According to multiple sources, Durov was arrested at around 8 p.m. at Le Bourget airport in the outskirts of Paris. He was reportedly accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman at the time of his arrest. Andrew Tate on Saturday revealed that Pavel Durov was arrested in France.
Andrew Tate tweeted: "The owner of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has just been arrested in France for failing to censor the truth on his application. Potential charges include support for terrorism, drug trafficking, complicity in crimes, mass fraud, money laundering, concealment, pedophile content, sanctions evasion, and more. They want to control information everywhere."
The owner of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has just been arrested in France for failing to censor the truth on his application.Potential charges include support for terrorism, drug trafficking, complicity in crimes, mass fraud, money laundering, concealment, pedophile content,…
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) August 24, 2024
In response, Tristan Tate reposted Andrew Tate's tweet, asserting that Durov had done nothing wrong and implied that the arrest was part of a "Matrix attack."
On social media, there was more conjecture that Durov would spend up to twenty years behind bars. However, this information is unverified so far.
It's not apparent why Durov specifically decided to land in France. French investigators acted on a search order that could only be carried out on French soil which makes Durov's landing in France a questionable move. Travel within France and several other European countries had been prohibited for Durov. The founder of Telegram had been deemed a persona non grata in France.
According to the warrant and the French judicial authorities, Durov and Telegram are complicit in drug trafficking, terrorism, pedophilic crimes, and fraud that take place on the platform because of their “lack of moderation, collaboration with law enforcement, and the instruments supplied by Telegram."