Kremlin warns France against trying to “intimidate” Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

The Kremlin said Tuesday that France had leveled "very serious" charges against Telegram founder Pavel Durov and warned Paris against trying to intimidate him, after the tech tycoon was arrested at a Paris airport.

"The charges are indeed very serious, they require no less serious evidence. Otherwise this would be a direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication, and, I might even say, directly intimidate the head of a large company," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said – according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Durov, the billionaire founder of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, was arrested earlier on Saturday evening at Bourget Airport, just outside Paris.

French media outlets TF1 and BFM TV reported that Durov was detained after arriving in his private jet, due to an arrest warrant issued as part of a preliminary investigation by French authorities.

The investigation, according to sources, revolves around allegations that Telegram has not implemented sufficient moderation on its platform, which has allegedly allowed criminal activities to flourish.

With nearly one billion users, Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics, and has become a critical tool for both unfiltered communication and, in some cases, the dissemination of illegal content.

Since its launch in 2013, Telegram grew to be one of the most influential messaging apps globally, especially in regions like Russia and Ukraine.

The platform's strong encryption and user privacy features have made it a preferred choice for secure communication. However, these same features have drawn criticism and scrutiny from governments concerned about the app being used for illicit purposes.