Pavel Durov arrested in France - TF1 TV channel

A TV channel source close to the investigation said that the court could on Saturday bring charges related to terrorism, drugs, fraud, money laundering, selling stolen goods and sexual crimes against children against Pavel Durov. He said that Durov would most likely end up under arrest. 

"He allowed countless crimes to happen on his platform and did nothing to mitigate them or cooperate [with the authorities]," said a TF1 source. 

According to him, the arrest will allow law enforcement agencies to "disturb the anthill, create an impression and intimidate criminals, which is now being coordinated freely on Telegram." They also expect their actions to increase pressure on other European countries to access encrypted communications in terrorist cases. He added that Telegram's second most dangerous area after terrorism is communication with paedophiles. "For years now, Telegram has been the number one platform for organized crime," the source said. 

The TF1 interlocutor expressed surprise that Durov traveled to France, knowing that a search warrant had been issued for him there. He pointed out that the arrest warrant is only valid within the country. “He made a mistake and we don’t know why. Was it just a transplant? Whatever it was, he’s behind bars now.”