French President Emmanuel Macron, who gave the first official confirmation of Durov's arrest since the Russian-born billionaire was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday night, said there was no political motive behind the arrest.

"The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation," Macron wrote on X. "This is not a political decision. The decision belongs to the judges."

In a subsequent statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Durov was arrested as part of an investigation into a person of interest launched by the office's cybercrime unit on July 8.

The investigation focuses on suspected complicity in various crimes, including operating an online platform that facilitated illegal transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as refusing to provide information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, the statement said. Billionaire Durov could be detained until Wednesday.

Telegram is a popular messaging and social media app around the world. The encrypted app, with nearly 1 billion users, is especially influential in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.

Durov's arrest has drawn criticism from social network X owner Elon Musk, who said freedom of speech in Europe was being violated, and Russia also called on French authorities to respect Durov's rights.

Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire who has been dubbed the "Elon Musk of Russia" as well as the "Mark Zuckerberg of Russia", has dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE foreign ministry, in its first comments, said in a statement that it had sent a request to France to "provide him with all necessary consular services on an urgent basis".

Estimated by Forbes to be worth $15.5 billion, Durov said in April that some countries had sought to pressure him, but that the app should remain a neutral platform and not "a factor in geopolitics."

Telegram did not provide details of the arrest but said: "Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and regularly travels in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owners are responsible for the misuse of that platform."

The Russian Embassy in Paris told X that French authorities had refused to cooperate with their request for consular access, but said they had contacted Durov's lawyer.

Telegram was founded by Durov, a self-described libertarian who fled Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on the social media platform VK, which he sold.

Durov obtained a French passport in 2021. However, Durov has never lived in France and it is unclear whether he has any special connection to the country.

His naturalization process is rare, with only 10-20 cases processed each year, and each requires high-level political support. In addition to French and UAE citizenship, Durov also holds Russian and St Kitts & Nevis citizenship.

Hoang Hai (according to Reuters, AJ, CNN)