Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging company Telegram, was arrested around 8 p.m. this Saturday evening when he got off his private jet on the tarmac at Le Bourget airport. Aged 39, this Franco-Russian was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman.

The arrest was carried out by agents of the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA), the Cyberspace Gendarmerie Command (COMCyberGEND), the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) as well as a crew from the border police (PAF). Listed in the FPR (wanted persons file), Pavel Durov came straight from Azerbaijan. He had above his head a French search warrant issued by the Minors Office (OFMIN) of the national directorate of the French judicial police, on the basis of a preliminary investigation.