In 2017, a spy operation that went under the name “Purple Music” was conducted by French intelligence agencies with assistance from the UAE. Together they hacked the iPhone of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The operation aimed to address concerns that ISIS was using Telegram to recruit militants. The results of the hack remain unclear.
Why was he arrested in Paris?
In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly invited Durov to relocate Telegram's headquarters to Paris, which Durov declined. Macron also offered Durov French citizenship, which Durov eventually accepted in 2021.
Durov's recent arrest in France became public on August 24. He arrived in Paris on a private jet from Azerbaijan.
Telegram "has become a vital communication tool in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian officials alike using the platform to disseminate information", Dagens.com writes in another article.
Will be released today Aug. 28
Macron stated that the arrest was not politically motivated but part of an "ongoing judicial investigation." The Paris prosecutor's office indicated that the charges were against "unidentified persons" and that Durov might have been detained as a witness.
He is suspected of involvement in 12 crimes related to Telegram's administration and will remain in custody until August 28.
