Telegram CEO charged by French authorities, released on bail

On August 28, French authorities filed preliminary charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, accusing him of allowing alleged criminal activities on the messaging app.

The decision to bring charges came four days after French authorities arrested Durov at Paris-Le Bourget airport as he arrived on his private jet from Azerbaijan.

The previous Wednesday, Durov was released from police custody and ordered to appear in court for further review of his case.

A French court also ordered Durov to pay bail of five million euros ($5.5 million) and report to police twice a week, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office.

The allegations against Russian-born Durov, who is also a French citizen, include that his platform is being misused to spread material about child sexual abuse and drug trafficking and that Telegram is refusing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.

A preliminary indictment accuses Durov of “complicity in the management of an online platform to facilitate illegal transactions by an organized group,” a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 500 million euros ($556 million).

Currently, Durov is the only defendant in the case, but French prosecutors do not rule out that other people could be charged.

In the French legal system, a preliminary indictment means that judges believe there is enough evidence of a crime to proceed with the investigation. Investigations can take years before they go to court or are closed. The country's justice system works differently than that of many other countries, and judges play a more active role in solving and prosecuting crimes.

Telegram is an app that allows one-on-one conversations, group chats, and “channels” that hundreds of people can participate in. Unlike Meta’s WhatsApp, where group chats are limited to 1,024, Telegram’s group chats can accommodate up to 200,000 people.

In a statement on August 25 following Durov's arrest, Telegram stressed that it complies with European Union laws governing online services, including the Digital Services Act.

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform,” Telegram said in a statement.

On August 26, Telegram released a statement saying that Durov “has nothing to hide and travels frequently around Europe.”

In addition to French and Russian citizenship, Durov also holds citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island state of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it was “closely following the case” and had called on France to “urgently provide Durov with all necessary consular services.”

Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed his hope that Durov would be given “all the necessary opportunities for his legal defense” and said the Moscow government was ready to support the technology entrepreneur.

Durov said in an interview in April that he left Russia and founded Telegram after defying Moscow's demands to hand over information about Ukrainian users of another online platform called Vkontakte, which he co-founded.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an August 26 post on the social media platform X that France is and will remain “deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

“The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place in the context of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on this matter.”

The arrest has raised concerns among some technology companies.

Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton, known for its encrypted email service Proton Mail, wrote on X that the “open accusations against Durov are crazy.”

“If this continues, I don't see how tech founders could even travel to France, let alone hire in France. This is economic suicide and will quickly and permanently change the perception of founders and investors,” he wrote.

Chris Summers, Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times