Reason why Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France, allegedly related to application violations

HOLIDAY NEWS - Pavel Durov, CEO and founder of the Telegram application, was arrested in France on Saturday (24/8/2024) evening.

This news emerged from a source who knew about the arrest when Pavel Durov got off his private jet on the runway at Le Bourget airport, Paris, France.

"Parts of the French national directorate of judicial police (OFMIN) issued a warrant for the arrest of Pavel Durov, a dual Russian-French citizen," the source said, according to a report by TF1, Sunday (25/8/2024).

Pavel Durov is suspected of violating a number of rules related to the Telegram application, including lack of cooperation with law enforcement, alleged involvement in drug trafficking, criminal violations of pedophilia, and fraud.

"Pavel Durov was arrested after flying from Azerbaijan. The arrest warrant for Pavel Durov is only valid if he is on French territory," reports TF1.

The newspaper said Pavel Durov had evaded arrest in Europe by flying via the United Arab Emirates, former Soviet countries and South America.

Pavel Durov also avoids traveling through countries where Telegram is monitored.

"He (Pavel Durov) made a big mistake tonight," a source close to the investigation told TF1.

"We don't know why. I don't know, was this flight (to France) just a stopover? In any case, he was detained," he continued, quoted from the Jerusalem Post.

TF1 said investigators from France's anti-fraud directorate detained Pavel Durov and he would appear before a judge on Saturday evening, ahead of a possible arraignment on Sunday.

These alleged violations include terrorism, supply of narcotics, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods, and others.

Pavel Durov, pendiri aplikasi Telegram. (Instagram/@durov)

Pavel Durov, founder of the Telegram application. (Instagram/@durov)

TF1 claims the businessman could face up to 20 years in prison. "Pavel Durov will definitely end up in pretrial detention," the source told TF1/LCI.

The newspaper said Pacel Durov made no effort to quell the violations on Telegram.

"On (Telegram), he allowed countless violations and crimes to be committed, which he did nothing to curb," he continued.

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in France asked France to release Pavel Durov and accused France of carrying out the arrest to obtain confidential information from Telegram users, as reported by TASS.

Telegram Founder Arrested in France, Russia Takes Action

Photo: Instagram @durov

Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, was reportedly detained by French police. When he was detained, Durov was leaving his private plane at Bourget airport near Paris, French television station TF1 reported. Russia, Durov's home country, also took action.

According to the TFI1 report, Durov was detained in France based on preliminary police investigations. Durov was reportedly detained when his plane had just landed after flying from Azerbaijan.

French authorities reportedly claimed a lack of content moderation on Telegram and unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement meant Durov was involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, and the distribution of child pornography that allegedly occurred on the app.

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The Russian Embassy in France took immediate steps to clarify the situation facing Durov. The representative of the New Russian People's party, Vladislav Davankov, urged the Russian government to seek Durov's release.

"The Russian Embassy in Paris immediately started working on this case because it is the duty of Russian diplomats to respond to cases involving the detention of Russian citizens abroad," said Zakharova, quoted by detikINET from Xinhua.

Telegram is very popular in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. Now, this application is also gaining popularity in various countries as a competitor to WhatsApp. Telegram targets to reach one billion active users next year.

The app was actually banned in Russia in 2018, after Durov previously refused to hand over user data. However, the ban was lifted in 2021.

Durov, who was born in Russia 39 years ago, reportedly holds French citizenship and also often lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai.

Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his other social media platform, VK, which he later sold.

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram became the primary source for a wide variety of unfiltered, sometimes vulgar and misleading content from both sides of the conflict.

Alasan CEO Telegram Pavel Durov Ditangkap di Prancis, Diduga Terkait Pelanggaran Aplikasi

HOLIDAY NEWS - Pavel Durov, CEO dan pendiri aplikasi Telegram, ditangkap di Prancis pada Sabtu (24/8/2024) malam.

Kabar ini muncul dari seorang sumber yang mengetahui penangkapan tersebut ketika Pavel Durov turun dari jet pribadinya di landasan pacu bandara Le Bourget, Paris, Prancis.

"Bagian dari Direktorat nasional kepolisian yudisial Prancis (OFMIN) mengeluarkan surat perintah penangkapan Pavel Durov, seorang warga negara ganda Rusia-Prancis," kata sumber itu, menurut laporan TF1, Minggu (25/8/2024).

Pavel Durov diduga melanggar sejumlah aturan terkait aplikasi Telegram, termasuk kurangnya kerja sama dengan penegak hukum, dugaan terlibat perdagangan narkoba, pelanggaran pidana pedofil, dan penipuan.

"Pavel Durov ditangkap setelah terbang dari Azerbaijan. Surat perintah penangkapan Pavel Durov hanya berlaku jika ia berada di wilayah Prancis," lapor TF1.

Surat kabar itu mengatakan Pavel Durov telah menghindari penangkapannya di Eropa dengan terbang melalui Uni Emirat Arab, negara-negara bekas Soviet, dan Amerika Selatan.

Pavel Durov juga menghindari perjalanan melalui negara-negara tempat Telegram diawasi.

"Dia (Pavel Durov) membuat kesalahan besar malam ini," kata seorang sumber yang dekat dengan penyelidikan tersebut kepada TF1.

"Kami tidak tahu mengapa. Entahlah, apakah penerbangan (ke Prancis) ini hanya persinggahan? Bagaimanapun, dia ditahan," lanjutnya, dikutip dari Jerusalem Post.

TF1 mengatakan penyidik dari direktorat anti-penipuan Prancis menahan Pavel Durov dan ia akan hadir di hadapan hakim pada Sabtu malam, sebelum kemungkinan dakwaan pada Minggu.

Dugaan pelanggaran tersebut meliputi terorisme, penyediaan narkotika, penipuan, pencucian uang, penerimaan barang curian, dan lain-lain.

TF1 mengklaim pengusaha itu dapat menghadapi hukuman penjara hingga 20 tahun.

"Pavel Durov pasti akan berakhir di tahanan praperadilan," kata sumber itu kepada TF1/LCI.

Surat kabar itu mengatakan Pacel Durov tidak berupaya meredam pelanggaran-pelanggaran tersebut di Telegram.

"Di (Telegram), ia membiarkan sejumlah pelanggaran dan kejahatan yang tak terhitung jumlahnya dilakukan, yang tidak ia lakukan apa pun untuk meredamnya," lanjutnya.

Sementara itu, Kedutaan Besar Rusia di Prancis meminta Prancis untuk membebaskan Pavel Durov dan menuduh Prancis melakukan penangkapan itu untuk mendapatkan informasi rahasia dari pengguna Telegram, seperti diberitakan TASS.

Pendiri Telegram Ditangkap di Prancis, Rusia Bertindak

Pavel Durov, pendiri dan CEO Telegram, kabarnya ditahan oleh kepolisian Prancis. Saat ditahan, Durov sedang meninggalkan pesawat pribadinya di bandar udara Bourget dekat Paris, menurut laporan stasiun televisi Prancis TF1. Pihak Rusia, negara asal Durov, pun bertindak.

Menurut laporan TFI1, Durov ditahan di Prancis berdasarkan penyelidikan awal polisi. Durov kabarnya ditahan saat pesawatnya baru mendarat setelah terbang dari Azerbaijan.

Pihak berwenang Prancis kabarnya mengklaim kurangnya moderasi konten di Telegram dan keengganan bekerjasama dengan penegak hukum menjadikan Durov terlibat dalam perdagangan narkoba, pencucian uang, dan penyebaran pornografi anak yang diduga terjadi di aplikasinya.

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Kedutaan Besar Rusia di Prancis mengambil langkah cepat untuk mengklarifikasi situasi yang dihadapi Durov. Adapun perwakilan partai Rakyat Baru Rusia, Vladislav Davankov, mendesak pemerintah Rusia untuk mengupayakan pembebasan Durov.

"Kedutaan Besar Rusia di Paris segera mulai menangani kasus ini karena merupakan tugas diplomat Rusia untuk merespons kasus-kasus yang melibatkan penahanan warga negara Rusia di luar negeri," kata Zakharova yang dikutip detikINET dari Xinhua.

Telegram sangat populer di Rusia, Ukraina, dan negara-negara bekas Uni Soviet. Kini, aplikasi itu juga naik daun di berbagai negara sebagai pesaing WhatsApp. Telegram menargetkan untuk mencapai satu miliar pengguna aktif tahun depan.

Aplikasi ini sebenarnya dilarang di Rusia pada tahun 2018, setelah sebelumnya Durov menolak untuk menyerahkan data pengguna. Namun, larangan tersebut dicabut pada tahun 2021.

Durov yang kelahiran Rusia 39 tahun silam, dilaporkan memegang kewarganegaraan Prancis dan juga sering tinggal di Dubai, Uni Emirat Arab. Ia mendirikan Telegram pada tahun 2013 bersama saudaranya Nikolai.

Durov meninggalkan Rusia pada tahun 2014 setelah menolak memenuhi tuntutan pemerintah untuk menutup komunitas oposisi di platform media sosialnya yang lain, VK, yang kemudian ia jual.

Setelah Rusia melancarkan invasi besar-besaran ke Ukraina pada tahun 2022, Telegram menjadi sumber utama berbagai macam konten yang tidak difilter, terkadang vulgar, dan menyesatkan dari kedua belah pihak seputar konflik tersebut.