French authorities are scheduled to issue a statement on the detention of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Monday, Aug. 26.
The outspoken billionaire was reportedly detained at an airport outside of Paris on Aug. 24 by French authorities. While initial reports indicated he’d been arrested on a litany of charges related to the Telegram messaging app’s lack of moderation, as of Aug 25, there appears to be no official confirmation that Durov has been placed under arrest or charged with crimes.
According to a report from The Washington Post, authorities in Paris have confirmed that Durov has been “detained” and a statement will be issued on Monday, Aug. 26.
In the wake of Durov’s detention, the Russian embassy has reportedly reached out to French authorities requesting access to Durov and clarification concerning the details surrounding his detention.
According to the Post, an embassy spokesperson, posting on Telegram, wrote on Aug. 25 that, “as of today, the French side has so far avoided cooperation on this issue.”
As Cointelegraph recently reported, the fallout from Durov’s detention has caused the price of TON to dip by more than 12%, however it seemingly has had the opposite effect on his support among the cryptocurrency and Telegram communities.
Social media is rife with messages of support, calls to “Free Durov,” and myriad theories as to exactly why the French government targeted the billionaire. Even X platform owner Elon Musk weighed in, posting an earlier interview with Durov and the hashtag “FreeDurov” as well as re-posting multiple supportive messages over several hours on the app.
Telegram issued an official statement on its app on Aug. 25:
"Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. 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. Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all."
Related: Will Telegram-linked Toncoin bounce back after Pavel Durov’s arrest?