Editor’s note: The article has been updated with details of the Pavel Durov case published by Reuters.
Telegram CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov was charged in a French court on August 28 with aiding and abetting the distribution of sexual images of children and other crimes, such as drug trafficking, via the messaging app, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccou said the judge had concluded that there were grounds for a formal investigation into all 12 charges on which Durov was initially arrested four days ago.
The charges include suspicion of complicity in operating an online platform that facilitates illegal transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as refusing to provide information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals.
Durov was released on bail on the condition that he pay five million euros ($5.6 million), report to police twice a week and stay off French territory.
Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris on August 24 after landing on his private jet. Born in St. Petersburg, Durov received French citizenship in 2021 but is believed to live in Dubai.
On August 28, Politico reported that France had already issued arrest warrants in March against Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai Durov, the founders of the messaging service Telegram.
The document obtained by Politico shows that the French investigation into Telegram is more extensive and was launched several months earlier than previously thought. AFP had previously reported that the investigation was launched in July.
Pavel Durov, whose net worth is estimated at $15.5 billion, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the Russian social media platform VK, and subsequently sold the platform.
Durov has claimed he is a pariah and has been effectively banned from Russia. However, on August 27, it was reported that he had visited Russia over 60 times since leaving, according to Kremlingram, a Ukrainian group that campaigns against the use of Telegram in Ukraine.
Telegram remains one of the most popular social media platforms among Ukrainians. A September 2023 survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 44% of Ukrainians use Telegram to get information and news.
In addition, Telegram is widely used by Ukrainian officials and various government institutions against the advice of the Ukrainian Television and Radio Broadcasting Association.
The Telegram problem in Ukraine goes beyond Pavel Durov, its Russian founder
When Pavel Durov, a Russian tech entrepreneur who founded the messaging app Telegram, was arrested in Paris on August 24 for allegedly allowing terrorism on his platform, Ukraine followed the case with great interest. On August 28, he was indicted by a Paris court. In Ukraine, the charges against Durov are
