Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has reportedly been arrested in France on various charges related to his management of the social messaging platform. These claims come from unconfirmed social media posts and unverified press reports.
According to the reports, Durov was taken into custody when his plane landed at Bourget airport near Paris. He allegedly faces charges including terrorism, trafficking, conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering.
Durov was reportedly detained as he disembarked from his private jet arriving from Azerbaijan. French commercial television network TF1, citing unnamed sources, reported that “this search warrant ran if, and only if, Pavel Durov was on national territory.” The network also suggested that Durov typically avoided traveling within Europe, especially to countries “where Telegram is under surveillance.”
In response to the reported arrest, the Toncoin (TON) cryptocurrency, developed by Telegram, experienced a significant drop of more than 10%, falling from an early Aug. 24 high of $6.86 to $5.85 at the time of publication.
Several prominent figures have publicly reacted to the news. American commentator Candace Owens expressed concern, saying, “Do you understand the severity of what is happening yet? Pavel Durov truly believes in free speech and created a platform the deep state doesn’t have access to, so now they have arrested him.”
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson echoed this sentiment, stating, “Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies,” in a post to his 13.6 million X followers.
This development follows Durov’s April appearance on Carlson’s podcast, where he predicted that increasing government surveillance would drive the creation of secure communication devices modeled after cryptocurrency hardware wallets. “The world is becoming less amenable. Governments are becoming less tolerant of privacy,” Durov said. “That’s clearly the trend because they have more technological power,” he added.
The Open Network (TON) issued an official statement on X, offering assurance to the community without providing specifics about the investigation. “Following the recent news related to Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov, we want to assure everyone that the TON community remains strong and fully operational,” TON stated. “As a community committed to freedom of speech and decentralization, we stand firmly by Pavel during this challenging time,” the statement concluded.
