Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities at Bourget Airport near Paris on Saturday evening under a warrant issued by the French judicial police.
Durov, a billionaire entrepreneur, was traveling from Azerbaijan on his private jet when he was arrested by the Air Transport Gendarmerie around 20:00 (18:00 GMT).
The detention was triggered by Durov’s inclusion in France’s wanted persons file (FPR).
The arrest comes amid a preliminary investigation into Telegram’s alleged facilitation of crimes, including terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and fraud.
A source close to the investigation indicated that Durov’s platform had enabled numerous offenses without proper moderation or cooperation with law enforcement.
Following the news, the price of Toncoin (TON), associated with the Durov brothers, dropped 13%, trading at $5.96.
Telegram has not yet commented on the incident, and the French Interior Ministry and police have also refrained from commenting.
Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands on his previous social media platform VK, has long insisted that Telegram remains a neutral platform, free from geopolitical influence.
