Exclusive: Telegram CEO’s brother also wanted by French authorities

This article is also available in French.
PARIS — French authorities issued arrest warrants for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and his co-founder brother Nikolai in March, according to a French administrative document seen exclusively by POLITICO.
The document indicates the French undercover investigation into Telegram is wider and began months earlier than previously known. The case revolves around Telegram’s refusal to cooperate with a French police inquiry into child sex abuse. 
Pavel Durov was arrested Saturday night by French police at Paris’ Le Bourget airport after border officials warned judicial authorities he was arriving on his private jet from Azerbaijan.
His arrest has kicked off a diplomatic firestorm for the French government as well as a global outcry over free speech and the culpability of social media platforms for material shared by their users.
The arrest warrants were issued after the messaging platform gave “no answer” to an earlier judicial request to identify a Telegram user, according to the document, which was shared with POLITICO by a person directly involved in the case. 
The document also stresses “Telegram’s almost non-existent cooperation” with both French and European authorities in other cases.
Warrants for Pavel and his brother Nikolai, the platform’s co-founder, were issued on March 25 over charges including “complicity in possessing, distributing, offering or making available pornographic images of minors, in an organized group.” French media had previously reported the probe was opened in July.
The warrants were issued after an undercover investigation into Telegram led by the cybercrime branch of the Paris prosecutor’s office, during which a suspect discussed luring underaged girls into sending “self-produced child pornography,” and then threatening to release it on social media.
The suspect also told the investigators he had raped a young child, according to the document. Telegram did not respond to the French authorities’ request to identify the suspect. 
As well as stressing Telegram’s lack of cooperation with authorities, the document cited use of the platform “by numerous criminal groups” in its justification for the arrest warrants for the Durov brothers. 
There’s no suggestion either of the Durov brothers were directly involved in any of the illegal activities identified by the investigation.
The price of Toncoin, a cryptocurrency developed by the Durov brothers, dropped precipitously after news of the arrest broke, and is trading around 20 percent lower than it was on Saturday.
A lawyer for Pavel Durov declined to comment on the investigation.
Telegram’s Vice President Ilya Perekopsky is also mentioned in the summary of the case, though the document does not indicate if a warrant has been issued for him.
The prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the warrants against both Durov brothers because the investigation is secret. They did say that “the various offenses committed via Telegram, and which warranted the opening of an investigation by the cybercrime unit of the Paris public prosecutor’s office, include child pornography offenses (among others).”
“At this stage, the only person being questioned in this case is Pavel Durov,” the prosecutor’s office added. Nikolai Durov’s current location is unclear.
Telegram pushed back against any suggestion of wrongdoing Sunday following the CEO’s arrest, saying it abides by all EU laws and its founder “has nothing to hide.” It said neither the platform nor its founder could be blamed for abuse of the online service.
The Russian-born tech tycoon — who holds Russian, French and Emirati citizenship, as well as that of Saint Kitts and Nevis, according to the document — founded Telegram in 2013. Since then the platform has ballooned to nearly one billion global users and become a critical messaging tool for political dissidents, battlefield generals and gangsters. Telegram refuses on principle to take down any posts that violate local restrictions on speech or disclose any data about their users to any government.
The Kremlin, which has had a tempestuous relationship with Durov, on Tuesday warned France that it better have good evidence against the Telegram chief. French President Emmanuel Macron insisted Monday that the French government had no involvement in Durov’s arrest. Russian state media has reported Moscow intends to demand consular access. 
The diplomatic service of the United Arab Emirates, for its part, has requested consular access to Durov, who usually lives in Dubai. Durov has rejected UAE assistance, according to someone close to him. 
Contacted by POLITICO, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said “any person of foreign nationality held in police custody has the right to contact the consular authorities of his or her country” — without specifying whether Durov had made such a request.
Durov’s interrogation has been extended to its maximum length of 96 hours and will end on Wednesday, at which point the Telegram CEO can be charged or released. Durov’s arrest led to condemnation from self-proclaimed free speech advocates from around the world including billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. 
Telegram’s lack of content moderation tracks closely with the ideals of Musk, who is the owner of social media platform X.