Pavel Durov (40), founder and CEO of Telegram, an online messenger app with over 900 million users worldwide and known for its excellent security features, was arrested on the 24th (local time) in Paris, France. French authorities are said to have taken issue with the fact that CEO Durov is turning a blind eye to Telegram becoming a hotbed of various crimes, including drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and terrorism.
According to local broadcaster TF1 and others, Durov was arrested by the French Office against Crime against Minors (OFMIN) at around 8:00 p.m. that day while arriving at Le Bourget Airport on the outskirts of Paris, France, after departing from Azerbaijan on a private plane. According to the French daily Le Monde, authorities arrested Durov as part of a preliminary investigation on charges including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and inciting organized crime and terrorism. In particular, it has been reported that the investigation will focus on the fact that various crimes are rampant via Telegram but are not being curbed. Telegram has been widely abused in Korea as well, such as in the “Nth Room” case, which involved the production and distribution of child pornography, and as a gateway for drug distribution cases among youth, but it is difficult to track down crimes because it thoroughly guarantees anonymity.
Russian-born Durov co-founded Telegram with his older brother Nikolai in 2013, earning him the nickname “Russian Mark Zuckerberg.” He rarely gives media interviews, and is also known as the “reclusive CEO.”
According to Forbes, Durov’s assets amount to $15.5 billion (about 20.5995 trillion won). He previously founded a social network service called VKontakte, but refused to hand over information on VK users who participated in anti-Russian protests in Ukraine and other countries after being requested by Russian security services to do so, and fled to Germany in 2014. Since then, it has been reported that he has obtained citizenship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, and Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. Telegram’s headquarters is currently in Dubai, UAE.
Reporter Choi Ji-seon [email protected]
Reporter Lee Chae-wan [email protected]
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2024-08-25 09:16:45