Telegram founder Pavel Durov called his arrest in Paris in August last year a “strange case.” According to him, even though a year has passed, he is still forced to return to France every two weeks. The entrepreneur emphasized that the only consequence of this arrest was a serious blow to the country’s reputation as a “free state,” reports Peopletalk.
Recalling the incident, Durov said: “I was held in custody for four days only because I had not heard that some people used Telegram to coordinate crimes.” According to him, arresting the CEO of a major platform for the actions of its users is not only unprecedented but also completely absurd from both a legal and logical standpoint.
During the year-long investigation, neither Telegram nor he himself was found to have committed any wrongdoing, he stressed. “Our moderation practices fully comply with industry standards. Moreover, Telegram has always responded to all legitimate requests coming from France,” the entrepreneur said.
In his view, there is a great irony in the situation: “In fact, I was arrested by the French police because of their own mistake. Until August 2024, they had not sent requests to Telegram in the official form required by French and European law. They could have found the proper procedure simply through a basic search.”
At the same time, Durov’s appeal has not yet been considered in court. He emphasized that the most regrettable aspect of the situation is that the arrest damaged France’s image as a democratic state.
It should be recalled that Pavel Durov was detained on August 24, 2024, at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. He was charged with 12 criminal offenses, including refusal to cooperate with authorities and complicity in fraud, and faced up to 10 years in prison. In February 2025, Durov was released on bail of 5 million euros. The conditions imposed on him were not to leave France and to report to the police twice a week. However, the case has still not been brought to court more than a year later.
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