“At this stage, the only person being questioned in this case is Pavel Durov,” the prosecutor’s office added. Nikolai Durov’s current location is unclear.
Telegram pushed back against any suggestion of wrongdoing Sunday following the CEO’s arrest, saying it abides by all EU laws and its founder “has nothing to hide.” It said neither the platform nor its founder could be blamed for abuse of the online service.
The Russian-born tech tycoon — who holds Russian, French and Emirati citizenship, as well as that of Saint Kitts and Nevis, according to the document — founded Telegram in 2013. Since then the platform has ballooned to nearly one billion global users and become a critical messaging tool for political dissidents, battlefield generals and gangsters. Telegram refuses on principle to take down any posts that violate local restrictions on speech or disclose any data about their users to any government.
The Kremlin, which has had a tempestuous relationship with Durov, on Tuesday warned France that it better have good evidence against the Telegram chief. French President Emmanuel Macron insisted Monday that the French government had no involvement in Durov’s arrest. Russian state media has reported Moscow intends to demand consular access.
The diplomatic service of the United Arab Emirates, for its part, has requested consular access to Durov, who usually lives in Dubai. Durov has rejected UAE assistance, according to someone close to him.
Contacted by POLITICO, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said “any person of foreign nationality held in police custody has the right to contact the consular authorities of his or her country” — without specifying whether Durov had made such a request.
Durov’s interrogation has been extended to its maximum length of 96 hours and will end on Wednesday, at which point the Telegram CEO can be charged or released. Durov’s arrest led to condemnation from self-proclaimed free speech advocates from around the world including billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Telegram’s lack of content moderation tracks closely with the ideals of Musk, who is the owner of social media platform X.