Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside of Paris while traveling on his private jet.
Reports by French network TF1 suggest that he was wanted in France due to an investigation into Telegram's lack of moderation, which authorities believe has enabled criminal activities to continue on the platform.
Telegram representatives did not immediately comment on the situation, and neither did French authorities.
Durov, who has a net worth estimated at $15.5 billion, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he subsequently sold.
He has stated that Telegram should remain a neutral platform, resisting various governmental pressures.
According to Durov, Telegram blocks accounts and chatbots that collect data aiding strikes or call for violence.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in March that Telegram poses risks because "any person can create a channel and start writing whatever he wants on it," but it also presents certain benefits, namely, in communicating with people from occupied regions.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
