“The Telegram application follows European Union law, including the Digital Services Act. Its moderation is within industry standards, and is continuously improving,” wrote its official statement, Monday (26/8/2024).
“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently to Europe,” the company said. “We are still waiting for further developments. Telegram is with you.”
Pavel Durov, the 39-year-old Telegram boss is reportedly wanted on a French arrest warrant for a lack of moderation on Telegram that led to it being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content, according to BFMTV.
According to BFMTV, the Telegram founder has not traveled regularly to France or Europe since the arrest warrant was issued.
The Guardian quoted the TF1 website as saying Durov was traveling on his private jet, adding that he had been the subject of an arrest warrant in France.
The Telegram CEO is known to have traveled from Azerbaijan and was arrested at around 8 pm local time.
The Russian-born entrepreneur is known to live in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered, and holds dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship.