The CEO of Telegram is arrested in France

Pavel Durov

The chief executive of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested by the French police at an airport north of Paris, the BBC reports. 

Durov was arrested after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport, French media reported.

According to officials, the 39-year-old was arrested on a warrant for violations related to the popular messaging app.

The Russian embassy in France is taking "immediate steps" to clarify the situation, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Telegram is especially popular in Russia, Ukraine and the states of the former Soviet Union.

The app was banned in Russia in 2018, following an earlier refusal by Durov to hand over user data.

But the ban was lifted in 2021.

Telegram ranks as one of the leading social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.

Durov founded Telegram in 2013 and left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his platform. /CNA 

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