Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday and placed in custody, a police source said.
The arrest of the 39-year-old technology billionaire prompted a warning from Moscow to Paris that he should be accorded his rights and criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack.
There was no official confirmation from France of the arrest, which French and Russian media have also reported, saying that Durov was arrested shortly after arriving at Le Bourget airport on a private jet from Azerbaijan.
