Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France as part of an ongoing judicial investigation, and there was no political motive, French President Macron said on Monday.
Macron’s statement on X amounted to the first official confirmation of Durov’s arrest, nearly two days since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet from Azerbaijan.The lack of official confirmation had led to speculation about the reasons behind his detention. Macron said he had read “false information here regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov,” adding France was deeply committed to free speech.
“The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote. “This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”A police spokesman told Reuters that Durov is under investigation by the national cyber crime and fraud offices for failing to cooperate over cyber and financial crimes on Telegram, a popular messaging and social media app akin to WhatsApp. He is still in custody, the spokesman said.
Reuters was unable to speak to any lawyer representing him.
Durov’s arrest prompted criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack, and calls from Moscow for French authorities to accord Durov his rights.