Russian-born Pavel Durov, founder and owner of popular encrypted messaging app Telegram, has been arrested in France over several charges related to his platform, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
According to multiple reports, he was arrested on several charges which involved alleged spread of criminal activity on Telegram which has about 900 million active users.
The billionaire lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
An entrepreneur with at least $15.5 billion in his kitty, he left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to ban opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform.
As of August 25, Durov was the 120th richest person in the world, In 2022, he was recognised by Forbes magazine as the richest expat in the UAE.
According to reports, after leaving Russia, he obtained Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship by donating $250,000 to the country's Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation and secured $300 million in cash within Swiss banks.
This allowed him to focus on creating his next company, Telegram. In January 2018, Durov announced that in a bid to monetise the growing success of Telegram, he was launching the "Gram" cryptocurrency and the TON platform. It raised a total of $1.7 billion from investors.
However, his crypto ventures were halted by the US regulator. In 2018, Russia attempted to block Telegram, after the company refused to cooperate with Russian security services.
Durov was arrested by France's anti-fraud office at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris, immediately after exiting his private jet. His arrest was based on an arrest warrant issued by the French National Judicial Police as part of a preliminary investigation.
He was expected to appear in court on Sunday. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Telegram did not immediately respond to the development. Russia's embassy in France is taking "immediate steps" to clarify the situation.
Durov and his brother Nikolai founded the messaging app in 2013 and it has about 900 million active users.
Telegram offers end-to-end encrypted messaging and users can also set up "channels" to disseminate information quickly to followers.