In some startling news, Pavel Durov, the CEO of popular social messaging platform Telegram, has reportedly been detained in France. However, the reports emanating from social media and unverified press sources have not yet been officially confirmed.
According to circulating reports, Durov was apprehended upon his arrival at Bourget Airport near Paris. The allegations of crimes he supposedly faces are quite serious and include charges ranging from terrorism, trafficking, and conspiracy to fraud, and money laundering. The founder of the decentralized computer network ‘The Open Network,’ formerly known as the Telegram Open Network (TON), was reportedly traveling on his private jet when he was arrested by French authorities.
The rumors of Durov’s arrest have had an undeniable impact on the TON cryptocurrency backed by Telegram. Since the news broke, the crypto token has experienced a significant drop, declining more than 10 percent from its August 24 peak of $6.86 to $6.07 at the time of writing, illustrating the potentially widespread implications of this situation.