Pavel Durov, the chief executive of Telegram, was reportedly arrested by French police at Le Bourget Airport, located north of Paris.
According to the BBC, Durov was detained after his private jet landed at the airport.
The 39-year-old entrepreneur was apprehended under a warrant related to offences connected to the popular messaging app, Telegram.
The specifics of the charges have not been disclosed.
The Russian embassy in France is actively working to clarify the circumstances surrounding Durov’s arrest, according to reports from Russia’s TASS state news agency.
French television channel TF1 reported that Durov had been travelling on his private jet at the time of his arrest.
Telegram, the messaging app founded by Durov in 2013, has a significant user base in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet Union states.
Telegram faced a ban in Russia in 2018 after Durov refused to hand over user data to the government, but the ban was lifted in 2021.
The app stands as one of the major global social media platforms, alongside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after defying government orders to shut down opposition groups on his previous social media platform VKontakte, sold the platform before focusing on Telegram.
His arrest has raised questions about the nature of the charges and the potential implications for the popular app.
