Lack of moderation lands Telegram CEO in jail

The arrest involved officers from several French agencies, including the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA), the Cyberspace Gendarmerie Command (COMCyberGEND), the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) and the Border Police (PAF).

Duruv was captured after arriving from Azerbaijan on his private jet at Le Bourget airport near Paris.

Durov, 39, from Russia, created Telegram with his brother Nikolai in 2013. It is one of the most downloaded apps worldwide and has 900 million users. It is not as moderated as other popular communication apps. This casual approach is allegedly the reason Durov was arrested, as the app is considered a popular hangout for criminals and troublemakers.

The company is accused of failing to take the necessary security measures to prevent criminal use of its app and of allowing it to be used for crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking.

Durov is expected to go on trial on Sunday, where he is expected to be charged with multiple counts.

The arrest probably didn’t come as a surprise to Durov, as he knew that the authorities had issued an arrest warrant for him. That said, it’s also possible that it was a simple stopover that turned out to be a mistake. After all, he restricted his travel to France and Europe after the warrant was issued.