Ironically, the 39-year-old technology magnate's arrest prompted a warning from Moscow to Paris on Sunday, insisting that his rights be respected. Durov's arrest was prominently featured in Russian news bulletins.

Durov fled Moscow in 2014 after refusing to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.  

Elon [look at me] Musk, owner of X, criticised the arrest, claiming that European free speech was under threat.

Russian lawmaker Maria Butina, who spent 15 months in a US prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent, described Durov as "a political prisoner - a victim of a witch-hunt by the West."

Durov was detained shortly after arriving at Le Bourget airport on a private jet from Azerbaijan. One of the French police sources noted that police had identified Durov on the passenger list prior to the jet's arrival and moved to arrest him due to an outstanding arrest warrant in France.

"Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving," Telegram stated in response to the arrest.

"Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."

Durov, who holds dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship, was arrested as part of a preliminary police investigation into allegations that Telegram's lack of moderators and cooperation with police facilitated a wide range of crimes, according to a third French police source.

A cybersecurity gendarmerie unit and France's national anti-fraud police unit are leading the investigation, with an investigative judge specialising in organised crime overseeing the case.

"We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all," Telegram stated.

The encrypted application, with nearly 1 billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine, and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It ranks among the major social media platforms, alongside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.