The founder of Telegram is accused of being complicit in a number of crimes, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child pornography.
Pavel Durov has currently been released under judicial supervision, with the requirement to post a bail of 5 million euros. He is prohibited from leaving France and must report to the police twice a week.
Durov is facing allegations of complicity in at least 12 crimes due to his refusal to moderate the messenger platform and cooperate with law enforcement. Under French law, penalties could be imposed for each separate accusation (if they are not similar), meaning that the Telegram founder could face up to 10 years in prison.
The prosecution noted that the investigation was initiated because Telegram has been largely unresponsive to legal inquiries, including those from other European countries. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the decision to detain Durov is not political.
It should be noted that Pavel Durov was arrested at Paris airport this weekend when he landed on a private jet, and he was placed in custody for four days. Subsequently, France issued a wanted notice for his brother Nikolai (according to Politico, the investigation against both had begun several months ago).
At the same time, Durov is involved in an investigation filed by the mother of his three children, Irina Bolgar — concerning abuse against their son; and he is also under scrutiny from the EU, which suggests that Telegram may have concealed the true number of its European users to avoid compliance with regulations for large tech companies.
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