Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested at Paris airport; TON coin falls 17%

Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday, according to local media reports. Durov, who arrived from Tehran on his private jet, was detained by local authorities. The investigation against him is focusing on Telegram’s lack of moderators, with law enforcement fearing this has allowed criminal activity to flourish unchecked on the platform.

Telegram, known for its strong encryption, has repeatedly rejected government demands for a backdoor key, citing user privacy concerns. Following Durov’s arrest, Telegram’s TON token experienced a sharp decline, losing as much as 18% before slightly stabilizing again. At the time of writing, TON is trading at just over $5.71, down 14% in the past few hours.

The team behind the TON blockchain responded to the news by assuring the community that the network remains fully functional. On X, they wrote: “Despite recent developments surrounding Telegram founder Pavel Durov, the TON community remains strong and fully functional.”

According to Sputnik, Durov is due to appear in court on Saturday evening. He faces serious charges. French media say he faces up to 20 years in prison. The charges relate to Telegram’s lack of content moderation and Durov’s lack of cooperation with the French authorities.

Telegram was developed by Durov and his brother Nikolai, a programmer. With around 900 million active users, it is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. However, weak content moderation has led to allegations that it is often used for criminal activities and the spread of extremist material.

It has also grown with the help of community contributors and integration with Telegram. This has caused the price of TON to rise by over 300% in the past year. However, this connection is now causing the price of TON to drop.