Kremlin Says Has No Information On Telegram Founder's Arrest

Moscow: The Kremlin on Monday said it had received no information from France on why it was holding Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder of the Telegram messaging app.

"We do not know concretely what Durov is accused of. We have not heard any official declaration on this subject," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Before saying anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer... Without that, it would be inappropriate to comment," he said.

Durov, who has French and Russian citizenship and is one of the world's most influential tech icons, was arrested on Saturday after flying into Le Bourget airport outside Paris.

The 39-year-old was flying from Azerbaijan, which Russian President Vladimir Putin also visited last week.

Asked about this, Peskov said that Durov and Putin did not meet.

A source told AFP that France's OFMIN, a body tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov.

Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.

Telegram has said it abides by EU laws and that its moderation is within industry standards.

Russia's embassy in Paris said it had demanded access to Durov but got no response from France, saying "the French side is refusing to cooperate".
In the streets of Moscow, opinions were divided on Durov's detention.

"Messaging apps should not be controlled because private chats are private chats. Full stop," said Bamba, 38, speaking to AFP near the French embassy in Moscow.
"I thought freedom of speech was at a high level in France. But after this arrest, something has changed," she said.

Shamil Magomedov, a 23-year-old barman, said that encrypted messages needed to be "verified" because of the risk of criminal use.

"We live in an age where there have recently been several attacks so I am not against government control," he said.

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