Telegram’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained late at night at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France. According to information from the reputable news source TF1, Durov was arrested by officials from the French National Office for the Fight against Fraud (ONAF) and is currently held in pre-trial detention.
Expected to Be Arrested
According to the information received, Durov was traveling from Azerbaijan to France on a private jet, accompanied by a woman and his bodyguard. TF1 reported that Durov’s arrest resulted from a preliminary investigation initiated by a French research agency called OFMIN, which works to prevent child sexual exploitation. The arrest warrant, not valid outside France, could only be enforced within French borders.
TF1 spoke with a source who shared details of the incident, saying, “He made a mistake tonight. We don’t know why he made such a mistake. We don’t know if this flight was just a stopover. Anyway, he is currently in custody.”
According to TF1’s report, after meeting with an investigating judge on Saturday evening, Durov could be officially charged on Sunday with numerous crimes, including terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, possession of stolen goods, and pedophilic content. An ONAF official made a stern statement regarding Durov’s detention, saying, “Pavel Durov will definitely be arrested. He harbored numerous crimes and criminal elements on the Telegram platform and did nothing to prevent them or cooperate with authorities.”
Toncoin’s Price Plummets
Following this news, the price of Telegram’s main network asset Toncoin (TON) dropped by over 10% after the news was published. On the other hand, market observers believe that Durov’s detention will have significant effects on the cryptocurrency market as a whole.
Durov’s fate is expected to become clearer in the coming days, depending on how long he remains detained in the French legal process.
