“Pavel Durov Has Nothing to Hide”: Telegram States in Its First Official Statement

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide,” the end-to-end encrypted social media platform noted in a statement issued hours after Durov’s detention in France, adding that he “travels frequently in Europe.”

Durov was detained by French authorities on Saturday evening at Le Bourget airport outside Paris. He was understood to be traveling in his private jet from Azerbaijan to the European country.

The media has used the terms “detention” and “arrest” interchangeably to describe the actions against Durov; however, the two terms are distinct. Detention is a temporary holding for investigative purposes without pressing any formal charges, while an arrest occurs when a person is formally taken into custody and charged with one or more crimes.

Durov appears to be only under detention at the moment. According to The Guardian, the investigating magistrate extended his detention beyond Sunday night, and the questioning could last up to a maximum of 96 hours.

“Telegram Abides by EU Laws”

Although the exact charges against Durov are still unclear, it has been reported that he is being blamed for breaches related to the lack of content moderation on Telegram. The French authorities are expected to issue an official statement on the case today.

According to AFP, the French OFMIN, which is tasked with preventing violence against minors, issued an arrest warrant against Durov, charging him with offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and promotion of terrorism.

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for the abuse of that platform,” stated Telegram in its first official statement on the Telegram News channel on Saturday.

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act—its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving… Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information,” the official statement continued.

TON Sheds $2.7 Billion

Meanwhile, Durov's detention directly impacted the price of TON, the native cryptocurrency backing The Open Network, the blockchain project linked to Telegram. The token shed about 20 percent of its value since Durov’s detention, losing approximately $2.7 billion.

Durov, who was born in Russia, is a billionaire entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of about $15.5 billion according to Forbes. He and his brother, Nikolai Durov, founded Telegram in 2013, prioritizing end-to-end encryption. However, he had to leave Russia the following year after refusing to comply with the Russian government’s order to shut down opposition communities on the platform.

Freedom to communicate privately;
Freedom to express yourself publicly;
Freedom to build your apps and businesses.#FreePavel pic.twitter.com/SOPxuD6Ooo

— TOKEN2049 (@token2049) August 25, 2024

Telegram has gained massive popularity over the years and competes with social media giants like Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat. The platform has over 900 million active users and is influential in Russia, Ukraine, and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Durov relocated to the United Arab Emirates in 2017 and moved his company to the Middle Eastern country. He became a French citizen in August 2021 and, according to French media, also received UAE citizenship. Reuters also noted that he holds citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, a dual-island nation in the Caribbean.

Russia banned Telegram in 2018, but access to the platform in the country was hardly hampered. The ban was subsequently lifted in 2020. Meanwhile, Telegram's popularity also prompted European authorities, including those in France, to investigate security and data breach concerns. EU tech regulators confirmed last May that they were in contact with Telegram to discuss compliance with EU content moderation legislation.

“[Durov] Miscalculated”

Interestingly, Russia took a surprising interest in Durov's situation following his detention by the French authorities. The Russian embassy in France said it is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation.

“We immediately asked French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question,” the embassy in Paris told the RIA Novosti news agency.

“As of today, the French side has so far avoided cooperation on this issue,” the Russian embassy in France stated on its official Telegram channel. The embassy further confirmed that Durov’s lawyers are in touch with its officials.

Meanwhile, online campaigns are ongoing to support Durov. Even tech billionaire Elon Musk posted an earlier interview of Durov with controversial media presenter Tucker Carlson with the hashtag #FreePavel.

#FreePavel
pic.twitter.com/B7AcJWswMs

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2024

“The French continue their fight for ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘European values,’” Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas wrote on Telegram.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, also pointed out that Durov's detention is an example of “very alarming totalitarian trends in countries which used to call themselves democratic.”

The situation also caught the attention of former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who wrote on Telegram (translated from Russian): “He thought that his biggest problems were in Russia, and left, then also receiving citizenship/residence permits in other countries. He wanted to be a brilliant ‘man of the world’ who lives well without a homeland.”

“He miscalculated,” Medvedev added. “For all our now common enemies, he is Russian—and therefore unpredictable and dangerous… Durov needs to finally understand that the Fatherland, like the times, is not chosen.”