Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Criticizes France Over 'Absurd' 2024 Arrest

In brief

Durov has called his August 2024 arrest “legally and logically absurd,” claiming French police detained him over crimes by users he’d never heard of.
The Telegram CEO must report to French authorities every 14 days despite ongoing investigation finding no wrongdoing by him or his platform.
Durov remains under judicial supervision in France, required to report every two weeks, with no appeal date yet set.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov called his arrest by French police “legally and logically absurd” on Sunday, exactly one year after being detained for four days over alleged criminal activity on his messaging platform.

In an X thread posted one year after his arrest at Le Bourget airport outside Paris, the 40-year-old tech mogul revealed he must still return to France every 14 days with “no appeal date in sight.”

Since his release on €5 million (US$5.8 million) bail, Durov has been permitted to travel briefly to Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered, but remains under judicial supervision.

Durov was initially detained on charges related to alleged criminal activity on his messaging platform, which prosecutors claimed he failed to moderate adequately.

“So far, the only outcome of my arrest has been massive damage to France’s image as a free country,” he tweeted Sunday.

“This legal action against a platform’s CEO over user actions highlights a fundamental tension between legacy legal frameworks and the core Web3 principle of individual sovereignty,” HashKey Group chief analyst Jeffrey Ding told Decrypt.

The case prompts a “broader, global discussion” on the balance between innovation and “regulatory oversight” in the digital ecosystem, he said.

Durov’s arrest immediately impacted crypto markets, causing Toncoin (TON), the native token of The Open Network blockchain, closely affiliated with Telegram, to plummet as news broke.

French authorities detained Durov on charges including complicity in distributing child pornography, narcotics sales, and organized fraud, saying Telegram’s encryption tools were being used without proper government authorization.

The National Anti-Fraud Office accused the platform of refusing to cooperate with law enforcement requests and failing to moderate criminal content.

Durov’s detention drew condemnation from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and ex-NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, compelling President Emmanuel Macron to defend France’s record on free expression.

However, Durov pushed back against these accusations, claiming the French police had made procedural errors that revealed their own incompetence, and “they could have learned the correct procedure simply by googling it or asking.”

The tech executive said Telegram was easy to reach, saying they have “always responded to every legally binding request from France.”

He added that his platform’s “moderation practices align with industry standards,” declaring “we’ll keep fighting—and we will win.”

Kadan Stadelmann, CTO at Komodo Platform, told Decrypt that “governments in Europe are waging an assault on privacy by coercing compliance from platforms that offer users encryption and user autonomy.”

He noted that “Russia and Iran banned Telegram for not handing over surveillance keys,” pointing to a pattern where “governments want to scare developers out of developing encrypted technology that undermines their centralized control.”