PARIS –
French authorities have detained Pavel Durov, the French-Russian billionaire who founded the messaging app Telegram, at an airport outside Paris, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Officers from France’s anti-fraud office, attached to French customs, took him into custody Saturday evening after he arrived at Bourget Airport on a flight from Azerbaijan, BFMTV reported.
Durov, 39, was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to the lack of moderation on Telegram which led to it being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content, according to BFMTV.
According to BFMTV, the Telegram founder had not regularly travelled to France and Europe since the arrest warrant was issued.
CNN has reached out to the French prosecutor’s office for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.