Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov issued his first statement following his arrest last month, taking to his Telegram channel to refute the allegations against him. Durov described his arrest as both “surprising” and a “misguided approach” by French authorities, who detained him on August 25 over alleged offences linked to his messaging app.
According to reports, the arrest warrant was issued as part of a preliminary investigation into various serious charges, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime, and the promotion of terrorism. Durov expressed that if there were any complaints, the authorities should have approached the company directly instead of detaining him.
Addressing accusations of Telegram being an “anarchic paradise,” Durov stated, “The claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue. We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day. We publish daily transparency reports and have direct hotlines with NGOs to process urgent moderation requests faster.”
Durov also outlined his reasons for being taken aback by the arrest, highlighting that the French authorities had multiple channels to contact him. “As a French citizen, I was a frequent guest at the French consulate in Dubai. A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France,” he noted.
Durov’s statement raises questions about the approach taken by French authorities, emphasizing the cooperation that already existed between Telegram and law enforcement.
