UAE SEEKS CONSULAR SERVICES FOR ARRESTED TELEGRAM CEO, PAVEL DUROV

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The UAE announced on Tuesday that it had asked for consular services for Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, who is based in Dubai. Durov was detained in France on suspicion of not doing enough to stop illegal activity on the app.

“The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by the French authorities in Paris-Le Bourget Airport,” the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The UAE has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide him with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner,” it added.

Durov, the 39-year-old billionaire founder of the messaging platform, was arrested at the Paris airport late on Saturday.

He is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has more than 900 million users. The company has rejected the accusations.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied there was a political aspect to Durov’s arrest as the internet mogul spent a second day in French custody.

Late Monday, French authorities again extended his initial detention for questioning until Wednesday, according to a source close to the investigation.

Durov set up Telegram after leaving Russia a decade ago, and Forbes magazine estimates his current fortune at $15.5 billion.

He holds a French passport in addition to Russian nationality. In its press information, Telegram says its founder has “dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday Moscow had received no information from France about why he was detained, and “we do not know concretely what Durov is accused of.”

Dubai-headquartered Telegram said on Sunday that “Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards,” it added.

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

AFP