Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of encrypted messaging app Telegram, has been arrested in France, according to local reports.
The 39-year-old tech chief was reportedly detained after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris.
News broadcasters BFMTV and TF1 have quoted unnamed sources as saying the Russian-born entrepreneur who became a French citizen in 2021 was the subject of a search warrant.
Both outlets suggest the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram and potential criminal activity by users.
Neither French police, the Interior Ministry, nor Telegram have commented on those claims.
It is unclear what Mr Durov was arrested for but BFMTV reported the warrant concerned the app’s possible use in money laundering, drug trafficking or sharing of child sex abuse content.
Telegram is one of the most downloaded apps in the world, with predictions it will achieve close to one billion users within a year.
It has become a critical source of information on Russia’s war in Ukraine, and is used heavily by both Moscow and Kyiv officials.
It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms and claims to have more than 950 million monthly active users.
But it has also been used for criminal activity and recently by far-right activists who sparked riots in the UK over the Southport stabbings.
(Sky News)
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