Macron, French Foreign Ministry were not warned before Durov's arrest, Reuters reports

August 30, 2024 12:57

Neither French President Emmanuel Macron nor the country’s Foreign Ministry were given a warning before the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, Reuters reported, citing a source in the Paris prosecutor's office, Report informs referring to TASS.

Durov was also unaware about the arrest warrant awaiting him in France, according to the source.

The source said the French investigation was not linked with the United States.

Earlier, Le Monde said, citing people in the French president's entourage, that Macron was not planning to meet with Durov at the Elysee Palace on the day of his arrival, contrary to some news reports. According to the newspaper, Macron was not in Paris that evening, but at his family home in Pas-de-Calais in northern France.

Durov was detained at the Le Bourget airport outside Paris on August 24. His detendion ended on August 28, and a judicial investigator charged Durov on six counts, which include complicity in running a platform enabling illegal transactions. The offense, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros.