Telegram founder arrested: Who wants to arrest him? Summary of people from all sides

Written by: Deng Tong, Bitchain Vision

On August 25, Bitchain Vision reported that Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained at a French airport. In addition, French police also searched Durov’s property.Sources said the possible reason for Durov’s detention was drug trafficking, gun black market and child pornography on Telegram.Previously, Telegram refused to cooperate with the police.

What allegations will Telegram founder Pavel Durov face?How does Telegram respond to this?Is the prospect of TON still bright?What are the responses from people from all sides, including the Russian government?Bitchain Vision specially organizes information from multiple parties for readers’ enjoyment.

1. Who is Pavel Durov?

Pavel Durov is a Russian programmer and billionaire, founder of VKontakte and Telegram. He was a scholarship recipient of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation as a student, and a three-time Potanin scholarship recipient.He is called Mark Zuckerberg of Russia by HuffPost.

In 2013, Durov created Telegram.Since 2016, he has been listed on the Forbes Top 200 Rich Russians.On April 6, 2021, Forbes Magazine released a new global rich list, which is ranked 112th in the rankings, with his wealth estimated at about $17.2 billion.According to the official French government gazette, Durov became a French citizen on August 25, 2021.On August 24, 2024, he was arrested by French police in France for “Telegram-enhancing money laundering crimes” and detained by agents from the French National Anti-Fraud Office.

Durov became a French citizen in August 2021.He moved himself and Telegram to Dubai in 2017, and according to French media reports, he also obtained UAE citizenship.In addition, he is a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, a two-island Caribbean country.

2. Details of Pavel Durov’s arrest and charges to be faced

According to French news website TF1, Durov was arrested after traveling from Azerbaijan to Paris Bourget Airport, which specializes in serving private jets.

It is understood that the billionaire rarely travels in Europe, perhaps to avoid being detained in this way, as his warrant is only valid in France.

TF1 prediction, Durov may be sued on Sunday, including“Multiple charges: terrorism, drugs, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, acceptance of stolen goods, pedophile content”, and perhaps even more.

According to the preliminary investigation, Durov is the subject of a search warrant issued by OFMIN, the French investigative agency to combat child sexual exploitation.

“He made a mistake tonight. We don’t know why…is the flight just a stopover? He was locked up anyway.”

3. The foreshadowing of Telegram’s regulatory pressure

In addition, Telegram regulatory issues may also lay the groundwork for the founder’s arrest.

According to French Le Monde, Telegram platform is often criticized for its lack of regulation and will only carry out partial and very limited bans.

In 2018, Russia began blocking Telegram because the app refused to comply with court orders to allow national security departments to access its users’ encrypted information.The action had little impact on Telegram’s availability in Russia, but it sparked massive protests in Moscow and was criticized by NGOs.

Durov told American journalist Tucker Carlson in April: “I would rather be free than follow anyone’s orders.” He left Russia to find affiliation for the company, and has worked in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco.

In a video interview with the Telegram founder Pavel Durov by a famous American political critic and journalist Tucker Carlson, Pavel Durov revealed some key information:“Whenever we come to the U.S., we get too much attention from the FBI and other security agencies, and the last time I went to the U.S., I brought an engineer who worked on Telegram. A cybersecurity officer or agent was trying to be behind me.Secretly hired my engineers. They were curious about what open source libraries were integrated in Telegram’s applications and tried to convince him to use some open source tools that act as a backdoor.””I personally have experienced similar pressures in the United States. Whenever I go to the United States, I have two FBI agents greet me at the airport and ask questions. My understanding is that they want to build a relationship to betterControl Telegram.”

Telegram’s growing popularity has also triggered scrutiny of security and data breaches in several European countries, including France.In May, EU technology regulators said they had reached out to Telegram as it approached a key usage standard that could put it under stricter requirements under a landmark EU online content legislation.

Due to the lack of regulatory rules,Telegram becomes a refuge for many political movements that are banned on all other platforms, such as the Conspiracy Movement QAnon, and Hamas, where the group has dozens of official and unofficial accounts.Telegram is one of Hamas’ official channels.The organization, called the Hamas Movement, has about 150,000 subscribers, and the channel released the Hamas activists’ kidnapping of Fiat-Is hostage Mia Shh during the October 7, 2023 attack on the Rising Star Tribe FestivalMia Schem’s video.But Telegram’s audit supervision has not improved significantly.

Jackson Hinkle, an independent political commentator in the United States, said on X that an anti-Israel hacker had stolen billions of bytes of sensitive Israeli data and posted confidential information on Telegram.And Telegram rejected Israel’s request for review.Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France and faces 20 years in prison.

Telegram has influence in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet republics, according to Reuters.It has become an important source of information for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and both Moscow and Kiev officials use it extensively.Some analysts call the app a “virtual battlefield” of war.

4. TON and Telegram responses

On August 25, TON posted on X to respond to Durov’s arrest:

TON Community Statement

Following recent news about Telegram founder Pavel Durov, we want to assure everyone that the TON community is still strong and fully operational.

As a community dedicated to freedom of expression and decentralization, we firmly support Pavel during this challenging time.Pavel has been a loyal advocate of these values and we believe his efforts to promote an open and decentralized internet will continue to inspire millions of people.

The TON community remains focused on our mission and we will continue to work to adhere to these principles globally.We encourage everyone to stay calm, unite and continue to build as we work together to deal with this situation.Thank you for your continued support.

TON Community.

Subsequently, TON official promotion added the 2018 hand-painted Resistance Dog logo of Telegram founder to the avatar.According to the TON Foundation, the Dog in Hoodie (also known as Resistance Dog) was originally drawn and named in 2018 by Telegram and TON founder Pavel Durov, and REDO has been a Telegram “resistance” censorship since thenThe (non)official mascot of the vision.

Telegram Wallet also posted on its official channel, saying: “We are closely following recent news about Telegram founder Pavel Durov, but these events will not affect Wallet’s operations in any way.”

On August 25, Telegram issued its first official statement on the arrest of its CEO Pavel Durov, “It is unclear what the hell Durov is charged, or whether he isAlready arrested. There are various reports that he may have been arrested for lack of management of the Telegram platform, but the facts are still vague as it has not been officially confirmed by the French government and no further explanation from Telegram. “Telegram’s CEOOfficial Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”

On August 26, Telegram released a statement on the X platform to respond to the arrest of the founder:

1. Telegram complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act—its audits comply with industry standards and are constantly improving.

2. Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov is not hiding, and he travels frequently in Europe.

3. It is ridiculous to claim that “a platform or platform owner is responsible for abuse on the platform”.

4. Nearly one billion users around the world use Telegram as a means of communication and an important source of information.

5. The team is waiting for the rapid resolution of this situation.

5. How do people from all sides respondPavel Durov arrested?

The Russian Foreign Ministry said:The Russian Embassy in France has taken necessary measures to understand the situation of Durov’s arrest.Russian media “Russia Today” (RT) reported that Russian State Duma Vice Chairman Vladislav Davankov urged the Russian Foreign Ministry to take immediate action and try to let France release Durov.

Davankov posted a message in the “Telection” on the 25th:“Neither one has contributed more than he has contributed to the development of digital services in Russia and the world…we need to rescue him.I have urged Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to take action and call on the French authorities to release Durov.The arrest may have been politically motivated to obtain personal information from the ‘Telecom’ user.We cannot allow this to happen.”

Davankov believes that “there is illegal activity on all social platforms, but no one arrests or imprisons their owners, and this time the situation should not have happened.” He also declared thatIf the French government refuses to release Durov, Russia should “do all efforts” to send Durov to the UAE or Russia, “of course, it is subject to his own consent.”Regarding this incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zakharova responded on the 25th that the Russian Embassy in France has taken necessary measures and is understanding the relevant situation of Durov.
Medvedev posted a message on Telegram on the 25th to respond to Durov’s arrest:“I asked Durov a long time ago why he was unwilling to work with law enforcement agencies on serious crimes? He replied at the time, ‘This is my principled position’. But I told him, ‘this will be in anyThe country is facing serious problems’.”

“He thought his biggest problem was being in Russia, so he left and then obtained nationality or residence permits from other countries. He wanted to be an excellent ‘world citizen’ and live a good life without his motherland.. As the Latin proverb says: Ubi bene ibi patria! Wherever you live, you are the motherland.”

“But he miscalculated. He was Russian to all the enemies we face now, so it was unpredictable and dangerous, with different blood running on him.”

“He’s not Musk, nor Zuckerberg (by the way, they’re also actively working with the FBI).

“Durov should eventually understand that the motherland is like the times, and it is impossible to choose…”
Matteo Salvini, Italian Vice Premier and Minister of Infrastructure and TransportAfter Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris,The next one to “will be forced to shut up” is American entrepreneur Musk.“We Europe have moved toward the (news) checkpoint, towards this infamous system.” “Long live freedom, thought and speech. Who is the next person to be forced to shut up? Elon Musk?”

Musk commented on X:“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by French police” and said “this is promoting the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”And sarcastic“It’s Europe in 2030 and you’re executed because you like a meme”.Note: The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is part of the U.S. Bill of Rights, which guarantees citizens the freedom to express their opinions in public and political affairs.Its main content includes: freedom of speech, freedom of the press and other rights.

Since then, Musk released a video with the tag FreePavel again to support Telegram founder Pavel Durov. In the video, Pavel Durov was interviewed and said, “Musk’s acquisition of X has made speech more free, this is a great progress, and humans need more like X.Social media like Telegram that maintains freedom of speech.”

American journalist Tucker Carlson posted on X platform and attached an interview with Durov to the post:He left Russia when the government tried to control Telegram, the social media company of Pavel Durov.But in the end, Putin did not arrest him on the grounds that he allowed the public to exercise freedom of speech.What locked him up was a Western country, an ally of the Biden administration and a passionate NATO member.Pavel Durov sat in a French prison tonight, a living warning for any platform owner who refuses to review the truth as required by the government and intelligence agencies.Darkness is rapidly descending into this once free world.

Edward Snowden, the “Prism Gate” revealer:“The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is an infringement of basic human rights such as freedom of speech and the right to association. I am shocked and deeply saddened that Macron fell into obtaining private communications by taking hostages. This not only shames France., and also shame the whole world.”
Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, crypto asset management firm:“I guess they will accuse telegram of not complying with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which is a very bad law that requires the platform to be held accountable for illegal user content.”
Andrei Grachev, founder of DWF Labs:We can’t do much, but I decided to do what I can to support it, having purchased about $500,000 of TON on the open market and kept it on the chain until FREEDUROV is over.
Chris Pavlovski, founder of online video platform Rumble:“I came a little late because – I just left Europe safely. France has threatened Rumble and now they have crossed the red line and arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov for the reported reason that he did not censor the remarks.Rumble will not tolerate such behavior and will use all legal means to fight for the universal human rights of freedom of speech. We are currently fighting in a French court and hope that Pavel Durov will be released immediately.”It is reported that Rumble is an online video platform with web hosting and cloud services. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and its U.S. headquarters is located in Longboat Key, Florida.

6. Impact on TON price

The price of TON, which is linked to Telegram, fell 25% at one point due to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, but market analysis shows that some technical and market factors show thatTON is likely to rebound sharply in the coming weeks.

Similar situations have occurred on BNB. On April 30, CZ was sentenced in the United States, and BNB had fallen 13.5%, but when the rulings settled, BNB rose nearly 35% from its lows and hit nearly 700 on June 6.The dollar high.

When news about legal disputes breaks out, market panic sell-offs are more scenarios because traders are eager to protect their investments from potential impacts.However, once the initial shock fades, the market will reassess the situation more rationally, and the same psychological pattern may also appear on Toncoin.

Pavel Durov’s arrest could be seen as a major red flag, causing traders to exit positions and causing a sharp drop in prices.But if the market later believes the arrest is an isolated incident and does not fundamentally undermine the Toncoin ecosystem, traders may start to see the decline as an opportunity for panic buying.

From a technical point of view, TON trades within a clear upward channel range, as shown in the daily chart.

TON/USDT Daily Price Chart.Source: TradingView

TON/USDT has been a strong support role in rebounding from the downtrend line of the channel since its formation earlier this year.

Toncoin’s futures market data also suggests that traders’ confidence is growing.TON’s open contract (OI) rose to $303.62 million, its highest level since July after Durov’s arrest.Meanwhile, its financing rate rose to a three-month high of 0.0101% every eight hours.

TON OI and financing rates.Source: Coinglass

As of press time, the TON trading price is $5.77.It has rebounded from the previous low of $5.31.

French authorities are scheduled to issue a statement on August 26 regarding the detention of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.Bitcoin Chain Vision will continue to pay attention to this matter.

Source: Bitchain Vision, Wikipedia, TF1, Telegram, Reuters, Observer, The Block, Le Monde, CoinTelegraph