France’s foreign intelligence service on Monday denied allegations made by Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, who claimed that Nicolas Lerner, the agency’s head, asked him to ban Romanian conservative voices ahead of the country’s elections — a request Durov said he refused.
Durov was sensationally detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on his popular service.
"The DGSE strongly refutes allegations that requests to ban accounts linked to any electoral process were made on these occasions," the Directorate General for External Security (DSGE) service said in a statement.
The Russian-born co-founder of Telegram alleged in a post on X on Sunday night that DGSE chief Nicolas Lerner had asked him this spring "to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of elections".
"I refused. We didn't block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won't start doing it in Europe," Durov, 40, said.
The centrist mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, won a tense rerun of Romania's presidential election on Sunday, beating nationalist George Simion in a vote seen as crucial for the direction of the EU and NATO member bordering war-torn Ukraine.
Intelligence contacted Pavel Durlov
In an earlier post on Sunday, Durov alleged interference by France in the Romanian election.
"A Western European government (guess which) approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today's presidential elections," Durov said on his channel.
The post did not name France but used an icon of a French baguette.
France's foreign ministry said it "categorically rejects these allegations".
The French intelligence service — made famous by the fictional hit TV series "The Bureau" — on Monday confirmed it had been in contact with Durov.
"The DGSE states that it has indeed been obliged, on several occasions in recent years, to contact PD directly to remind him firmly of his company's responsibilities, and his own personal responsibilities, in terms of preventing terrorist and child pornography threats," it said.
The initial period of detention can last up to 96 hours, and a judge can decide whether to free Pavel Durov or press charges against him after.
Durlov’s detention
Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris in August 2024 and charged with a litany of violations related to the popular messaging app he founded.
After days of questioning, he was charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist and terrorist content and released on a five-million-euro ($5.6 million) bail.
Durov has since announced steps appearing to bow to Paris's demands.
In March, he was allowed to temporarily leave France and travel to Dubai, sources have told AFP at the time.
The Kremlin on Monday said claims of France's meddling were "not news."
"The fact that European countries — France, Great Britain, Germany — are interfering in the internal affairs of other countries is not news," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"These are just bits and pieces that are being brought to light.”
An Australian cybersecurity firm says the credentials were stolen from personal devices of users through "infostealer" malware.
