Did Washington Secretly Orchestrate Pavel Durov's Arrest in Paris?

Telegram founder Pavel Durov would not have "risked his own safety" by landing in Paris if he believed the French authorities were serious about arresting him, his former press secretary Georgy Loboushkin told RT. Loboushkin suspects the order to detain Durov likely originated from Washington.

Durov was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet. French prosecutors reportedly plan to charge the 39-year-old with complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia, and fraud, citing Telegram’s strong encryption, insufficient content moderation, and alleged lack of cooperation with law enforcement as enabling criminal activity on the platform. "It's a big mystery why he would risk his safety and choose to land in Paris," Loboushkin told RT on Sunday. "He’s been very cautious in the past and has said many times that jail is not an option for him."

Loboushkin believes the Russian-born entrepreneur was either unaware of the arrest warrant or assumed Telegram’s compliance with local laws and sanctions would protect him from serious trouble. "I don’t think this is coming from the EU or France," Loboushkin added. "It’s most likely driven by the United States, which has long had its sights on Durov, as he’s openly discussed."

In an April interview with Tucker Carlson, Durov mentioned that whenever he visited the US, he attracted "too much attention" from law enforcement. He also claimed that American intelligence agents once tried to recruit one of his employees to install a backdoor in Telegram, allowing them to spy on users.

Loboushkin is not the only one suggesting US involvement in Durov’s arrest. Ekaterina Mizulina, head of Russia’s Safe Internet League, stated on Sunday that Washington aimed to curtail the free flow of information and undermine TON, a blockchain platform initially developed by Telegram’s creators. Given the significant Russian investments in TON, Mizulina argued that the arrest is an extension of US sanctions policy.

American investor David Sacks echoed these sentiments, claiming on X that Durov’s dedication to free speech and user privacy made him a target for Washington. Sacks noted that "using allied countries to circumvent First Amendment protections is the new Rendition," referencing the US practice of transporting terror suspects through foreign airports and military bases after 9/11.