Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested by French police at an airport north of Paris.
Mr Durov was arrested after his private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport, French media reported.
The 39-year-old man was arrested on a warrant for crimes related to the popular messaging app, officials said.
According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, the Russian embassy in France is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation.
French TV channel TF1 reported on its website that Durov traveled on his private jet.
Telegram is especially popular in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.
The app was banned in Russia in 2018, after Mr Durov refused to hand over user data.
But the ban was lifted in 2021.
Telegram is ranked as one of the largest social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.
Mr. Durov founded Telegram in 2013 and he left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his social media platform VKontakte, which he sold.
