Paris: French authorities have handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday (Paris time) for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app, and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.
Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial but shows judicial authorities consider there is enough to the case to proceed with the probe.
Pavel Durov, chief executive officer of Telegram.Credit: Bloomberg
Durov was granted bail on condition that he pay a €5 million ($8.2 million) deposit. He is also under the obligation to sign in with the police twice a week.
Durov’s laissez-faire attitude to regulation made Telegram into a giant but also put him at odds with governments for repeatedly ignoring requests to better moderate content on his platform.
The billionaire has styled himself as a radical libertarian and cultivates a look riffing off Keanu Reeves’ Neo character in The Matrix.
Yet Durov has faced heightened pressure to monetise Telegram as the maturity of a March 2026 bond worth $US2.4 billion approaches.
Both free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken out in Durov’s defence since his weekend arrest. The case has also called attention to the challenges of policing illegal activity online, and to the Russia-born Durov’s own unusual biography and multiple passports.
Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a sweeping investigation opened earlier this year. He was released after four days of questioning.
Allegations against Durov, who is also a French citizen, include that his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, and that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Credit: AP
The first preliminary charge against him was for “complicity in managing an online platform to allow illicit transactions by an organised group,” a crime that can lead to sentences of up to 10 years in prison and €500,000 fine, the prosecutor’s office said.
French authorities opened a preliminary investigation in February in response to ″the near total absence of a response by Telegram to judicial requests” for data for pursuing suspects, notably those accused of crimes against children, the prosecutor’s office said.
Durov’s arrest in France has caused outrage in Russia, with some government officials calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block the Telegram app but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov in a picture posted on the app.Credit: Telegram
In Iran, where Telegram is widely used despite being officially banned after years of protests challenging the country’s Shiite theocracy, Durov’s arrest in France prompted comments from the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weighed in with veiled praise for France for being “strict” against those who “violate your governance” of the internet.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Durov’s arrest wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation. Macron posted on X that his country was “deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights”.
In a statement posted on its platform after Durov’s arrest, Telegram said it abided by EU laws, and its moderation was “within industry standards and constantly improving”.
Reuters, Bloomberg, AP
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