The United States had Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested to exert control over the messaging app in the lead-up to the US presidential election, pointed out Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Russian-born Durov, who is a citizen of multiple countries, including France, was detained in France on charges linked to criminal uses of the Telegram app, including terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud, which could land the 39-year-old billionaire in prison for up to 20 years.

"In fact, Washington is behind Durov's arrest. Telegram is one of the few and, at the same time, largest online platforms over which the United States has no influence. It operates in many countries that are of interest [to US]. During the upcoming US presidential election, it is important for [US President Joe] Biden to take control of Telegram," Volodin said on Telegram.

The parliament speaker highlighted that most major global social media platforms originate in the US and are controlled by the White House. He described their use of "social network surveillance and total censorship" as a "traditional" method of political control and external influence.
 
"The US cannot force Telegram to conduct premoderation and provide data to the US State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency yet. Therefore, they are trying to charge Durov via France with more than 10 crimes, the list of articles on which is quite wide," Volodin explained.

Russian officials respond to Durov's arrest

Following Durov's arrest, the Russian embassy in France accused French authorities on Sunday of "refusing to cooperate."

Ekaterina Mizulina, head of Russia’s Safe Internet League, said that the French authorities’ decision to detain Durov was not made independently, noting that the arrest is an attack on TON (a blockchain-based platform originally developed by Telegram’s creators) in which major Russian companies have invested. 

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Vladislav Davankov, the deputy speaker of the Russian parliament, urged France to release Durov, expressing concerns that the arrest might be politically driven and used as a means to gain access to Telegram users' personal data, a scenario that "Russia cannot allow."

Moreover, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova questioned whether international human rights groups would pressure France after its authorities detained Durov as they did when Russia proposed regulations for the platform's operations. 

Zakharova took to the Foreign Ministry's Telegram channel to recount a 2018 incident during which 28 non-governmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, and Reporters Without Borders, launched a condemnation campaign against Russia over plans to ban Telegram in the country. 

"What do you think, will they [the NGOs] appeal to Paris this time and demand Durov’s release, or will they swallow their tongues?" she questioned. 

Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested at French airport

Pavel Durov, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday evening.

Durov, who was traveling from Azerbaijan on his private jet, was detained around 8 pm local time due to an outstanding arrest warrant in France.

According to French media, this comes as part of a preliminary police investigation.

The 39-year-old Russian-born entrepreneur has been residing in Dubai and holds dual citizenship in France and the UAE.

Telegram, which Durov co-founded with his brother Nikolai in 2013, now has over 900 million active users and is known for its end-to-end encrypted messaging and "channels" for quickly disseminating information.

Read next: Telegram team says 'absurd' to blame Durov for abuse on Telegram