After Arrest In Paris, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Is Accused Of Having Plastic Surgery & Getting Hair Plugs On Social Media

Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging service Telegram, was arrested at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport last week. Durov had just traveled from Baku, Azerbaijan and was arrested after landing in France for offenses related to his messaging app.

Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office, which is attached to the French customs department, told him he would be placed in police custody.

France’s OFMIN, an agency tasked with preventing violence against minors, issued an arrest warrant for Durov as the coordinating agency in a preliminary investigation into offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promoting terrorism.

Since his arrest, online trolls have noted Durov’s extreme makeover of his body – including a new full head of hair and ripped abs – and mocked his miraculous transformation and accused him of getting hair plugs and taking steroids.

Pavel Durov (Telegram CEO) before his hair transplant and plastic surgery. pic.twitter.com/TTb3am2Ddn

— Creepy.org (@creepydotorg) September 1, 2024

Western governments often condemned Telegram for lack of content moderating on the messaging service, which experts state opens up the platform for possible use in money laundering and drug trafficking as well as allowing the sharing of content linked to sexual exploitation of minors.

Durov was suspected of failing to take action to curb the illegal use of his platform.

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” the Company said in a statement. “Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.” 

Durov was later freed from custody. 

On August 26, French President Emmanuel Macron stated on X that Durov’s arrest had no political motive.

“I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov,” Macron wrote. “France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so.”

“In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,” he declared.

“It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law,” the French president stated. “The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”