Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested
26 Aug, 2024 ● Crypto people
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has reportedly been arrested in France on various charges connected to his operation of the social messaging platform, according to unverified social media accounts and press reports.
The reports suggest that Durov was arrested upon landing at Bourget airport near Paris and allegedly faces charges including terrorism, trafficking, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and other offenses.
The French commercial television network TF1, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, reported that "this search warrant was activated only if Pavel Durov was on national territory."
The network further claimed that Durov rarely traveled within Europe and avoided countries “where Telegram is under surveillance.”
Following the news of the reported arrest, the Toncoin cryptocurrency, which is associated with Telegram, experienced a significant drop of more than 10%, falling from its August 24 high of $6.86 to $5.85 at the time of publication.
Several prominent figures worldwide have already commented on the reports.
“Do you understand the severity of what is happening yet? Pavel Durov truly believes in free speech and created a platform the deep state doesn’t have access to, so now they have arrested him,” said American commentator Candace Owens.
“Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies,” former Fox News host Tucker Carlson told his 13.6 million X followers in an August 24 post.
This development follows Durov's appearance on Carlson’s podcast in April, where he predicted that increasing government surveillance would drive the creation of secure communication devices inspired by cryptocurrency hardware wallets.
“The world is becoming less amenable. Governments are becoming less tolerant of privacy," Durov explained at the time.
“That’s clearly the trend because they have more technological power,” he added.
The Open Network (TON) has since issued an official statement on X but did not provide specific details about the investigation.
“Following the recent news related to Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov, we want to assure everyone that the TON community remains strong and fully operational,” TON stated on X.
"As a community committed to freedom of speech and decentralization, we stand firmly by Pavel during this challenging time,” the statement added.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-allegedly-arrested-in-france
https://x.com/RealCandaceO/status/1827458795066573120
