Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been charged. He has been placed under judicial supervision. He is now banned from leaving France. He must post a bail of 5 million euros and then check in with the police twice a week, AFP reports citing the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Durov is accused of six offenses, including administration of an online platform with the purpose of making illegal transactions. Specifically on this composition, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Other charges include refusing to cooperate with authorities, providing illegal cryptologic services, and complicity in drug trafficking, fraud and distribution of pornographic material with minors.
Durov, 39, was detained on August 24 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport, where he flew from Azerbaijan in a private jet. The billionaire was taken into custody as part of an investigation into unidentified individuals on 12 counts of felonies. His arrest without charges was due to expire on Wednesday.
According to French law enforcement officials, Telegram is involved in numerous cases involving various crimes, including child sexual abuse and human trafficking. The authorities have repeatedly made legal requests to the messenger’s administration for assistance, but have received little or no response. As such, the decision was made to pursue legal action.
According to Politico, an arrest warrant was issued not only for Pavel Durov, but also for his brother Nikolai back in March 2024. This was after the messenger failed to respond to a court request for Telegram user data as part of a child sex abuse investigation.However, the warrant does not say that the Durovs were personally involved in the illegal activity.
Telegram said in a statement released after Durov’s detention that the platform complies with EU laws and its moderation “meets industry standards and is constantly being improved.” It also called attempts to hold the businessman responsible for the abuse of his messenger users absurd.
