Telegram CEO's arrest tied to cybercrime investigation of unauthorized 'cryptology' services, say French authorities

The reasons for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's arrest by French authorities have become more clear after authorities there released a statement on Monday.

Durov has been arrested as part of a sweeping cybercrime investigation that included allegations of providing "cryptology" services and tools, according to a statement released by the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris.

"Pavel DUROV, founder and CEO of instant messaging and platform Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport in the outskirts of Paris on Saturday, the 24th of August 2024, then taken into police custody at 8 p.m.," the statement reads. "This measure comes in the context of a judicial investigation opened the 8th of July 2024, following a preliminary inquiry initiated by Section J3 - JUNALCO (Fight against Cybercrime) of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office."

The statement went on to say that the "judicial investigation was opened against person unnamed, on charges of ... providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration, providing a cryptology tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration, [and] importing a cryptology tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration."

Several other alleged charges were listed, including complicity in "possessing pornographic images of minors" and "laundering of the proceeds derived from organized group’s offences and crimes."

Durov is being questioned as part of the cybercrime investigation, and the executive can be held until August 28, according to the release.

Several important figures across the crypto world have expressed their support for Durov, including Elon Musk, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin (who noted his opinion was based on information available so far), TRON founder Justin Sun, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.