TON Down 14% as Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested in France

Toncoin

(TON)
is
down
over
14.5%
after

French
media
reported
that
Pavel
Durov,
the
CEO
of
Telegram,
was
arrested
at
Le
Bourget
Airport
as
part
of
a
warrant
issued
by
OFIM,
an
office
of
the
French
National
Police,
that’s
tasked
with
preventing
violence
against
minors.

At
the
time
of
writing,
Toncoin
is
currently
trading
above
$5.75,
down
14.5%,

according
to
CoinDesk
Indices
data.

The
CoinDesk
20
(CD20),
a
measure
of
the
performance
of
the
largest
digital
assets,
is
flat,
up
0.79%.

The
warrant
for
his
arrest
stems
from
a
criminal
complaint
by
OFIM,
an
office
of
the
French
national
police

formed
in
November
2023,
which
considers
Durov
complicit
because
of
Telegram’s
lack
of
moderation,
in
drug
trafficking,
distribution
of
child
sexual
abuse
material
(CSAM),
and
fraud
due
to
Telegram’s
lack
of
moderation
and
cooperation
with
law
enforcement,

according
to
French
network
TF1.

Elon
Musk,
issued
a
post
on
X
advocating
for
Durov’s
immediate
release.

Telegram’s
PR
office
did
not
respond
to
a
request
for
comment
from
CoinDesk.

“On
his
platform,
countless
crimes
and
offenses
were
committed
for
which
he
does
nothing
to
moderate
or
cooperate,”
TF1
quoted
a
law
enforcement
source
as
saying.

“For
years,
it
has
become
the
number
one
platform
for
organized
crime,”
another
source
who
spoke
with
TF1
said.

Sources
that
spoke
with
TF1
were
surprised
he
came
to
France,
as
he
knew
he
was
a
wanted
man
in
the
country.

The
arrest
was
also
confirmed
by
the

BBC
and

Reuters.

UPDATE
(August
25,
05:10
UTC):

Adds
Musk’s
tweet
calling
for
Durov’s
release.