Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Says his Arrest is ‘Misguided’

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has hit out at French authorities, calling his arrest last week in relation to allegations of insufficient moderation on the messaging app, “misguided”.

In his first public statement since he was detained, Durov denied claims that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise.

Durov was arrested on August 25 at an airport north of Paris.

He has since been placed under formal investigation over suspected complicity in allowing illicit transactions, drug trafficking, fraud and the spread of child sex abuse images to flourish on his site.

In France, being put under formal investigation does not imply guilt or necessarily result in a trial.

But it indicates that judges consider there is enough of a case to proceed with an investigation.