The UAE said on Tuesday that it had requested consular services for Telegram’s Pavel Durov after the Dubai-based tech boss was arrested in France over alleged failings to curb criminality on the app.
“The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by the French authorities in Paris–Le Bourget Airport,” the Gulf state’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Durov, the 39-year-old billionaire founder of the messaging platform, was arrested at the Paris airport late on Sunday.
He is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has more than 900 million users. The company has rejected the accusations.
French President Emmanuel Macron denied on Monday that there was a political aspect to Durov’s arrest as the internet mogul spent a second day in French custody.
Late on Monday, French authorities extended again his initial detention for questioning until Wednesday, according to a source close to the investigation.
Durov set up Telegram after leaving Russia a decade ago, and Forbes magazine estimates his current fortune at $15.5 billion.
He holds a French passport in addition to Russian nationality. In its press information, Telegram says its founder has “dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow had received no information from France about why he was detained, and “we do not know concretely what Durov is accused of.”
Dubai-headquartered Telegram said on Sunday that “Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards,” it added.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
With AFP
