Crazy and not that crazy reasons for the Telegram’s founder arrest

Telegram founder faces up to 20 years in prison. What’s going on?

Telegram messenger founder Pavel Durov was detained at Paris-Le Bourget Airport as he stepped off a private jet. The French entrepreneur could face charges for multiple crimes committed via Telegram.

Possible reasons include terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud and pedophilic content, but some sources suggest other reasons for the messenger’s founder’s arrest.

Why was Durov arrested?

American journalist Tucker Carlson sees Durov’s arrest as a warning to “those who refuse to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intelligence agencies.”

Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control the social media company Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing free speech among the people. He was a Western country, an ally of the Biden administration and an enthusiastic NATO member,… https://t.co/F83E9GbNHC

—Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2024

Cyril Amursky, a journalist for LCI TV, noted that Durov faces up to 20 years in prison in France for a criminal case. In addition, Durov cannot seek asylum in France, as he is a citizen of the republic and is wanted only there. The journalist suggested that the businessman may have made an unplanned stop in France due to lack of fuel.

On the other hand, the State Duma explained the businessman’s arrest by his unwillingness to cooperate with the US authorities:

Durov has been considered a threat to U.S. national security ever since he dared to challenge the dollar’s ​​dominance and sparked interest from major American investors in the “next-generation cryptocurrency.”

State Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin

Journalists from the Sabah publication believe that the detention of the news outlet’s founder is aimed at covering up what is happening in Gaza. The publication claims that France will be followed by other countries that want to close down anti-Zionist news channels that Telegram does not censor.

Commenting on Durov’s arrest, German parliament member Steffen Kotre stressed that this was a fight against the opposition, noting that German media often called Telegram a platform for right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists.

Crypto community reactions

Toncoin (TON) cryptocurrency dropped by nearly 20% after the arrest of the Telegram founder, dropping from $6.83 to $5.37. Later, the coin recovered slightly and was trading at $5.63 at press time.

Source: TradingView

Many crypto industry participants supported Durov, and some even bought TON. For this reason, Andrey Grachev, founder of DWF Labs, bought TON tokens for $500,000 and said he would sell them when Durov was released. Following Grachev, the Memeland project also bought TON tokens for $1 million to support Durov and promised not to sell them until he was released.

Things Foundation has launched a fan token supporting Durov — Resistance Capybara (CPBR). In the first minutes, its capitalization skyrocketed to several million dollars. The token grew by 300%

Billionaire Elon Musk called the Telegram founder’s arrest a compelling advertisement for the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. He also posted a portion of Durov’s interview in which the entrepreneur discussed freedom of speech. Musk added the hashtag #FreePavel to the video.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino believes Durov’s arrest is deeply concerning. “If we lose the fight for freedom of speech and communication, dark times will come.”

The arrest of Pavel Durov for enabling free speech communication via Telegram is quite worrying.

If we as a society lose the battle to defend freedom of expression and communication, nothing else will matter and our future will be the dark ages.

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖🍐 (@paoloardoino) August 26, 2024

There is nothing to hide

Telegram team claims detained founder Pavel Durov has “nothing to hide”

Telegram stated that its moderation meets industry standards and is continuously improved, and that the platform complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act.

They also acknowledged that Durov’s arrest represented the most radical national measure ever taken against the head of a social network and risked fuelling a global debate over whether platforms should prioritise online safety or freedom of expression.

Community reacts to Durov’s arrest with memes

Despite the disappointment over Durov’s arrest, the community also responded with humor. Several memes about the Telegram founder’s arrest appeared on X:

Meanwhile, products supporting Durov began to appear on the Russian market.

Source: Wildberries marketplace What awaits Durov?

There are many messaging apps in the world where similar breaches to Telegram have occurred, but the owner of WhatsApp, Signal, Threema or Discord has not yet been arrested.

At the same time, Durov is also likely to be charged with terrorism, fraud and money laundering for refusing to cooperate with security forces; the hearing scheduled for August 25 has been postponed. Judges at the Paris court need another 48 hours to formulate charges.