Pavel Durov, the head of the messaging app Telegram, may be held in custody until Wednesday. French prosecutors announced that they have secured additional time to interrogate him. Meanwhile, a senior Russian official, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has said that he suspects that Washington has influenced the detention of Mr. Durov.
The Russian-born billionaire was arrested in France over the weekend as part of an investigation into crimes related to the distribution of child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on Telegram, according to French prosecutors.
On Tuesday, the public prosecutor's spokesman said that the decision to keep Mr. Durov in custody has been postponed for 48 hours on Monday.
The messaging app, which analysts describe as a virtual battlefield, has been widely used by both sides in the ongoing war in Ukraine. It is also widely used by channels that distribute propaganda.
Without providing evidence, the leader of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said that the United States, through France, is trying to exercise control over “Telegram”.
“Telegram is one of the few and at the same time the largest Internet platforms over which the United States has no influence.” Mr. Volodin wrote in a post.
“As we approach the US presidential election, it is important for (President Joe) Biden to get 'Telegram' under control.”
The White House has not commented on Mr. Durov's arrest.
With nearly 1 billion users, Telegram bills itself as a haven for free speech and political dissidents. It is mostly used in Russia, Ukraine and the former republics of the Soviet Union.
While the app's millions of users love it because it's easy to use, it's widely used by far-right supporters, anti-vaccination campaigners, and conspiracy theorists.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is known to be a frequent user of the app, said the arrest was not about political issues.
After Russia began its aggression in Ukraine in 2022, Telegram became the main source of information from both sides involved in the conflict. Often the publications there are unfiltered and fraudulent attempts.
