Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested in connection with extensive criminal investigation

French prosecutors provided preliminary information in a press release on Monday on the investigation into Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who was suddenly arrested at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on Saturday. Durov has not yet been charged with any crime, but officials said he is being held as part of an investigation “against an unnamed person” and could remain in police custody until Wednesday.

The investigation began on July 8 and includes wide-ranging charges related to alleged money laundering, violations related to the import and export of encryption tools, refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, and “complicity” in drug trafficking, possession and distribution of child pornography, and more.

The investigation was launched by the cybercrime prosecutors of the “J3 Section” and was carried out in collaboration with the French Center for Combating Cybercrime (C3N) and the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), the press release said. “It was within this procedural framework that Pavel Durov was questioned by the investigators,” Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau wrote in the statement.

Telegram did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the investigation, but claimed in a statement posted on the company’s news channel on Sunday that Durov had “nothing to hide.”

“Given the existence of several preliminary investigations in France against Telegram related to the protection of the rights of minors and in cooperation with other French investigative authorities – for example on cyberbullying – the arrest of Durov does not seem to me to be a very exceptional step,” says Cannelle Lavite, a French lawyer specializing in freedom of expression issues.

Lavite points out that Durov is a French citizen and was arrested on French territory on an arrest warrant issued by French judges. She adds that the list of charges under investigation is “extensive,” a wide net that she says is not entirely surprising given France’s “ambiguous legislative arsenal” designed to reconcile content moderation and freedom of expression.

Durov is a controversial figure due to his leadership of Telegram, primarily because he typically fails to comply with calls to moderate the platform’s content. In some ways, this has positioned him as a defender of free speech against government censorship, but it has also made Telegram a haven for hate speech, criminal activity, and abuse. Additionally, the platform is often touted as a secure communications tool, but much of it is open and accessible by default.

“Telegram is not primarily an encrypted messenger; most people use it almost like a social network, and they don’t use any of its features that provide end-to-end encryption,” says John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab. “This means Telegram has a wide range of capabilities and access to potentially moderate content and respond to lawful requests. This puts Pavel Durov at the center of all kinds of government pressure.”

In addition, many researchers question whether Telegram’s end-to-end encryption is permanent once users enable it.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a social media post on Monday: “France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication… The arrest of Telegram’s president on French soil came as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision.”

However, news of Durov’s arrest is fueling fears that the move could threaten Telegram’s stability and undermine the platform. The case also appears to have implications for long-running debates around the world about social media moderation, government influence, and the use of privacy-preserving end-to-end encryption.

Lavite says the case will undoubtedly spark debates about “the balance between the right to encrypted communication and freedom of expression on the one hand and user protection – content moderation – on the other.” However, she notes that much information about the investigation is unknown and “there are still many unclear areas.”

On Monday afternoon, Telegram seemed to get a download boost from the situation, climbing from 18th to 8th place in Apple’s US App Store app rankings. Global iOS downloads increased 4 percent, and in France, the app was number one in the App Store’s social networking category and number three overall.