Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was reportedly arrested in France on Saturday evening after getting out of his private jet.
Local media said the reason for his apprehension was related to offenses committed by the popular messaging app.
Citing unnamed sources, TF1info broke the news on Saturday evening, claiming that Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport, located northeast of Paris.
Although he has French and UAE passports, the Russian embassy said it had taken “immediate steps” to clarify the situation.
According to the media sources, Durov’s arrest was strongly related to “suspicious” activities by the messaging app he runs. Some of the offenses he could face are as follows: terrorism, narcotics, complicity, fraud, and money laundering.
It’s worth noting that Toncoin, which has strong history and current relationships with Telegram, plummeted after the news came out.
TON dumped from $6.75 to under $5.5 in less than 12 hours. Data from CoinGecko shows that the asset is currently down by 19% on a daily scale.