Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and chief govt of messaging app Telegram, was arrested at Bourget airport exterior Paris on Saturday night, TF1 TV and BFM TV reported, citing unnamed sources.
Durov was travelling aboard his non-public jet, TF1 mentioned on its web site, including that he had been the topic of an arrest warrant in France as a part of a preliminary police investigation.
Each TF1 and BFM mentioned the investigation targeted on the dearth of moderators on Telegram and that police believed this example allowed prison exercise to proceed undeterred on the messaging app.
Telegram didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark. The French Inside Ministry and police didn’t remark.
TF1 mentioned Durov had travelled from Azerbaijan and was arrested at round 8:00 p.m. (18:00 GMT).
Dubai-based Telegram was based by Russian-born Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to adjust to calls for to close down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he bought.
Durov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes to be $15.5 billion, mentioned some governments had tried to stress him however the app, which now has 900 million energetic customers, ought to stay a “impartial platform” and never a “participant in geopolitics.”