Since Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire and founder of the Telegram messaging app, was He was arrested when he arrived in Paris on Saturday eveningThere has been more speculation than fact about his fate.
A Russian newspaper headline summed up the story: “The arrest (or detention) of the ‘Russian Zuckerberg’, Pavel Durov, is one of the most important, yet mysterious, global issues,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta said.
The truth.
Except “mysterious” is a small part.
Why did the French police arrest him? What charges will he face? Does it have anything to do with his recent visit to Azerbaijan, where he met (or didn’t meet) Russian President Vladimir Putin?
For two days, journalists cited “sources close to the investigation” about the possible charges against Pavel Durov (allegedly, from participation in drug trafficking to embezzlement). The Telegraph issued a statement saying Mr Durov had “nothing to hide”.
On Monday evening, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement that Mr Durov had been arrested as part of a cyber crime investigation.
The statement listed 12 separate cases under investigation that it said were related to organized crime.
These include illegal transactions, child pornography, fraud and refusing to disclose information to authorities, the prosecutor said.
The statement added that Mr Durov’s term had been extended and could now last until Wednesday.
Without going into details, President Emmanuel Macron posted on social media that he saw “false information” about France after Mr Durov’s arrest, and added: “This is not a political decision at all. It is up to the judges to decide.”
In Moscow, the Kremlin is on guard.
“We still don’t know what Durov is accused of,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, commenting for the first time on Pavel Durov’s arrest.
“We have not heard an official statement. Before I say anything about this, we need to be clear.”
Transparency is not something that every Russian feels the need for.
On Monday, the leading political talk show on State TV had a lot to say on the matter.
“All these accusations against Durov sound absurd,” said one political analyst in the studio. “Accusing him for all the crimes committed in his field is like accusing him [France’s] President Macron of all the crimes that happened in France. It makes the same sense.”
Russian newspapers, too, are leading the story. Several newspapers expressed concern that the arrest of Pavel Durov could have negative consequences for Russia.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote: “This attack on Telegram threatens to harm Russia. “With the arrest of Pavel Durov, Western intelligence can obtain the encryption keys of the messenger.”
“Telegraph may become a tool of Nato, if Pavel Durov is forced to listen to the French intelligence services,” said Moskovsky Komsomolets, adding: “Telegraph conversations contain a lot of very important, strategic information.”
In April 2018, Russian authorities began blocking access to Telegram, only to lift the ban in 2020. Today, Russian officials not only use the messenger, but also the Russian army, including soldiers fighting in the so-called “Special Military.” Operation” (Russia’s war in Ukraine).
“If Telegram crashes,” Moskovsky Komsomolets asked today, “how [our army] will you fight?”
In the West, the arrest of Pavel Durov has sparked a debate about freedom of speech.
In Russia, too, the human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said that “the real reason for arresting Pavel Durov was to close Telegram, a forum where you can find the truth about what is happening in the world.” Everyone who fights for freedom of speech opposes this.”
Ms Moskalkova made no mention of the messaging app, which Russian authorities blocked access to earlier this month, or YouTube, access to which is now heavily restricted in Russia. Facebook and Instagram are already banned here.
And what about those rumors of a Putin-Durov meeting in Baku in early August. Was there?
“No,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied when I asked.
However this mysterious story ends, Moscow will use it to reinforce one of its legitimate issues: that Russian citizens should be wary of the West.
As the famous newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda put it: “In the West, there is no such thing as ‘good Russians’ anymore.”
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