Telegram billionaire Pavel Durov was apprehended by police as he landed at an airport on a private jet near Paris on Saturday evening amid a probe into the state of organised crime conducted through the messaging programme.
The arrest has brought attention to Durov’s vast network of global contacts, including government officials, and the criminal liability of application providers.
It is not so long ago the Russian-born tech tycoon, now 39, met with French President Macron for lunch in 2018 as part of a series of meetings with tech entrepreneurs, according to a source close to Macron.
Macron had reportedly urged Durov to move his headquarters over to Paris in an apparent effort to cosy up to the entrepreneur after French spies hacked his phone, concerned about ISIS’ use of Telegram in the wake of terror attacks in Europe, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Le Monde reported today that Durov had met Macron, who uses Telegram himself to communicate with his team, several times before receiving French nationality in 2021 via a special procedure reserved for those deemed to have made a special contribution to France.
But for now, Durov languishes in custody, expected to travel to court today where he could be formally charged after his initial arrest period for questioning came to an end – with significant precedent looming for future relationships between tech giants and governments.