Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov was apprehended at the Paris-Le Bourget airport after flying in from Baku, Azerbaijan on a private jet.
He faces allegations of neglecting to regulate criminal behavior on the platform.
Discover more about Durov, Telegram, and the situation:
Who is Pavel Durov and why was he taken into custody?
Originally from Russia, Durov, aged 39, co-established VKontakte, a prominent social media network in St Petersburg in 2007. He has been likened to Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.
In 2013, he made headlines worldwide by offering a job to Edward Snowden, a whistleblower and former NSA contractor.
In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Durov disclosed that he resisted Russian authorities’ demands for access to data from accounts of Ukrainian activists in 2014.
After selling his stake in VKontakte and fleeing Russia due to government interference, Durov shifted his attention to Telegram, a messaging app he created with his brother.
Currently residing in Dubai and holding citizenship in the UAE and France, Durov’s Russian citizenship status remains uncertain.
Forbes estimates his net worth at $15.5bn as of Sunday morning.
Co-founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona [File: Albert Gea/Reuters]
Durov has maintained a non-interventionist approach to moderation, positioning Telegram as a platform for private communication without censorship. However, concerns have been raised about the app being used for illicit activities and extremism.
According to AFP, his detention is related to alleged offenses on Telegram.
Post from www.aljazeera.com