UAE demands 'urgent' access to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov detained in France

The United Arab Emirates has said it was monitoring the case of Telegram founder Pavel Durov France, it said was a citizen of the Gulf state.

Durov was arrested by French police at Bouget airport on Saturday on allegations that he failed to combat criminal activity on the messaging app.

"The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by the French authorities in Paris–Le Bourget Airport, emphasizing that the UAE has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide him with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner," Afra Al-Hameli, the UAE foreign ministry's Director of Strategic Communications, said on X on Tuesday. 

Al-Hameli added that "caring for citizens, preserving their interests, following up on their affairs, and providing them with all aspects of care are a top priority for the UAE".

Born in Russia, Durov is a citizen of the UAE, France, Russia, and St Kitts and Nevis.

Durov obtained Emirati citizenship in 2021, according to a report from Forbes' Russian-language website in 2022 which cited two unnamed sources.

In the same year, he also held meetings with Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. It is not known whether the two events were linked.

Durov has not returned to Russia since 2014, when he left the country after refusing a Kremlin request to remove opposition groups from the VK social network he had founded.

Durov is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has more than 900 million users. The company has rejected the accusations.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied there was a political aspect to Durov's arrest as the internet mogul spent a second day in French custody.

Late Monday, French authorities again extended his initial detention for questioning until Wednesday, according to a source close to the investigation.

Durov set up Telegram after leaving Russia a decade ago, and Forbes magazine estimates his current fortune at $15.5 billion.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday Moscow had received no information from France about why he was detained, and "we do not know concretely what Durov is accused of".

Dubai-headquartered Telegram said on Sunday that "Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe".

"Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act -- its moderation is within industry standards," it added.

"It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."