Telegram CEO held over probe into drug trafficking on app

France says crimes related to child porn also being probed; denies political motive

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Mr Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France as part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutors said on Aug 26.

French President Emmanuel Macron, making the first official confirmation of Mr Durov's arrest since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on the evening of Aug 24, said there was no political motive in the arrest, despite many false comments online. He added that France remains deeply committed to lawful free speech.

"The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation," Mr Macron wrote on X. "This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide." In a subsequent statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Mr Durov was arrested as part of a probe into an unnamed person launched by the office's cybercrime unit on July 8.

The investigation is over suspected complicity in various crimes including running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as the refusal to communicate information to the authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, the statement said. Mr Durov can be held until Aug 28, it added.