Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, has been arrested in France, according to local reports.
The 39-year-old French-Russian tech boss had just arrived on a private jet when he was arrested at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris, BFMTV reports.
Citing an anonymous source, the newspaper added that there was a search warrant out for him in France.
telegram is one of the most downloaded apps in the world. In July, Mr Durov said it had nearly a billion users.
It offers end-to-end encryption (where only the direct users can access the data) for user calls and “secret chats” and places an emphasis on privacy.
Read more:
What is Telegram and why is it so popular?
Image: AP
Stay up to date with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Tap here
This focus makes the app popular with democracy movements and other protesters in countries with strict laws, but it has also been used for criminal activities and recently by right-wing extremist activists who sparked unrest in Great Britain about the Stabbings in Southport.
It is unclear why Mr Durov was arrested: BFMTV reported that the arrest warrant related to the possible use of the app for money laundering, drug trafficking or sharing child sexual abuse content.
The app’s founder, owner and CEO left Russia in 2014 after losing control of his previous social media company, VK, because it refused to hand over the data of Ukrainian protesters to security authorities.
He was naturalized as a French citizen in August 2021 and is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.
In an interview with US commentator Tucker Carlson in April, Mr Durov said he was determined to keep Telegram “neutral” and “free of geopolitics”.
