MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Arrest of Telegram's CEO has direct impact on Latin American developments

Elon Musk and Nicolás Maduro agreed that Durov's detention posed a threat to uncensored communications worldwide

Last weekend's arrest in France of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov had repercussions in Latin America. The move was first regarded as an attack on freedom of speech despite the magistrates issuing the arrest warrant claiming that Durov was suspected of being involved in a series of illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and child pornography distribution.

 Tycoon Elon Musk quickly linked the measure to his decision to lift all operations of his social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) in Brazil following incarceration threats and fines from Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexander De Moraes, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro agreed with the South African-born businessman in pointing out that the latest judiciary measure against the Russian entrepreneur sought ultimate goals that needed discussing.

French judiciary authorities have twice extended Durov’s detention in connection with an unspecified broad criminal inquiry against an unnamed person. “It would be helpful to the global public to understand more details about why he was arrested,” Musk wrote in response to a posting from French President Emmanuel Macron on X. Last Sunday, the French head of State argued online that in no way was the Durov case politically motivated.

The 39-year-old Russian-born Durov, who also holds French, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and St. Kitts and Nevis citizenships, is believed in Paris to be responsible of a range of crimes allegedly committed through the unmoderated Telegram platform which allows users to exchange uncensored messages.

Also speaking against Durov’s arrest were US journalist Tucker Carlson, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, former CIA and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, and US politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr., among other personalities. Russian Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova claimed that Durov's arrest was aimed at shutting down Telegram. In addition, Musk launched the hashtag #FreePavel, fearing that freedom of speech was in jeopardy worldwide. Snowden, a whistleblower who revealed the extent of NSA spying on Americans and foreign leaders back in 2012, has accused France of holding Durov “hostage” in order to access private communications on Telegram.

Surprisingly enough, concurring with Musk was Nicolás Maduro, who maintained that Durov’s arrest represented the persecution of alternative viewpoints. Venezuela's Chavista leader made those remarks during the 11th Virtual Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which was broadcast on Telegram. Maduro has banned Musk's X from Venezuela for allegedly posting content against his government's narrative.

The Venezuelan leader pointed out that Durov ”was taken into custody as part of this policy of persecution, maximum pressure, blackmail, arm-twisting of alternative social and communication networks.”

Durov was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday upon deplaning at Le Bourget airport when he returned from Azerbaijan after a search warrant was issued against him by the Office for Minors (OFMIN) of the French National Directorate of Criminal Investigation citing his lack of restraint and cooperation with law enforcement.

“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuses on their platform,” said the company in a statement. “We hope for a quick resolution of this situation,” it added while insisting all EU regulations were duly observed.

Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on Oct. 10, 1984, Durov spent most of his childhood in Italy before returning to Russia. His father, Valeri, was head of the Department of Classical Philology at the School of Philology at the St. Petersburg University, where his mother Albina also taught and he majored in English philology between 1992 and 2001 besides sutdying programming to develop various non-commercial projects on the Internet. In 2006 he created together with his brother Nikolai the social network VKontakte (now VK), also known as the “Russian Facebook,” which also earned Pavel the nickname of “The Russian Zuckerberg.”

In Dec. 2013 he sold his stake in VK (20%) and a year later resigned from his position as CEO after receiving a request from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) regarding Ukrainian users supporting the 2014 coup in that country.

By 2013, the Durov brothers had launched Telegram. The company's headquarters were located in Berlin but shifted to Dubai in 2017 to benefit from zero taxation policies. In 2022 Durov was granted a passport from the United Arab Emirates. In July 2024, Telegram had 950 million monthly active users worldwide. Excessive scrutiny by the FBI and US security services led Durov to drop the idea of relocating to the United States. Forbes Magazine estimates Durov's wealth to be in the neighborhood of US$ 15.5 billion.