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- Telegram founder arrested by French authorities at airport on return from Azerbaijan
- The founder is wanted for failing to cooperate with law enforcement and alleged complicity in illegal activities taking place on the messaging app.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested by authorities at an airport in France. Translated report from TFI Info Stated The founder was arrested at Le Bourget Airport in Paris while returning from Azerbaijan, accompanied by a woman and his bodyguards.
It is worth noting that the French National Directorate of Judicial Police issued an arrest warrant for the company’s CEO. The main point of the arrest warrant was his failure to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. In addition to this, the CEO is also accused of complicity in sexual crimes, fraud, and drug trafficking.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Durov has found himself at crossroads with law enforcement officials. The Telegram CEO made headlines for not cooperating with Russian authorities over his previous app — VK, a Russian social media and networking service. The founder refused to censor content and provide the government with information about his users, which eventually led to his departure from the company.
While Telegram has fallen under the radar for its use in illegal activities, the social messaging app has also played a key role in ensuring freedom of expression. The messaging app was particularly in the spotlight during the Hong Kong protests over an anti-extradition bill in 2021. The app allowed protesters to coordinate their protests without facing government scrutiny.
Telegram cryptocurrency takes a hit as a result
TONCOIN (TON) reacted strongly to the arrest of the social media founder. The coin lost more than 10% of its value in just one hour, trading at $5.98 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap. The chart for the past day recorded a loss along the same lines, while the 7-day chart recorded a loss of more than 7%. The coin’s market cap reached more than $15 billion, while the trading volume was around $695 million.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Regarding the arrest, Chart Simpson – X User He said,
“If Pavel Durov was arrested on the assumption that bad actors are using Telegram to harm people, why aren’t the CEOs of tobacco and arms companies arrested too? It’s becoming increasingly frightening how governments want to blatantly interfere with freedom of expression.”
Meanwhile, Dacadia – Reddit user Express,
“It’s a very stupid argument. It’s like accusing cutlery stores of being accomplices to murder because they sell kitchen knives. Especially the ‘lack of cooperation with law enforcement’ – yes, we understand that you want to have backdoors in all your messaging apps and spy on your citizens 24/7.”
The story is still under development.
