In a bombshell revelation, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov alleged that French intelligence services attempted to strong-arm him into censoring conservative Moldovan channels ahead of critical parliamentary elections.

Durov, who was arrested at a Paris airport last year, claims in a now-viral post on X that the pressure through French authorities while he was under judicial supervision in France. The Russian-born tech billionaire wrote that French authorities approached him through an intermediary roughly a year ago, demanding Telegram remove several Moldovan channels. While Telegram did take down some accounts that violated its policies, Durov alleged the plot thickened when the intermediary relayed a shady offer: French intelligence promised to "put in a good word" with the judge overseeing his case if expanded cooperation.