Pavel Durov Released on €5M Bail, Won't Be Allowed to Leave France
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been officially charged by the French court and is now out on €5 million bail, country exit banned.
- A French court indicted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on six preliminary charges, including complicity in drug trafficking, spreading child sexual assault material, and aiding organized crime. He’s also accused of obstructing the investigation into his company.
- Charges against Durov depict Telegram as uncooperative, alleging he refused to assist with legal wiretaps and enabled unlawful transactions by organized criminals, Paris prosecutors stated Wednesday.
- Being formally investigated in France doesn't imply guilt or guarantee trial; it means judges see enough to continue the probe. Investigations can last years before trial or being shelved.
It is absurd to suggest Durov could be implicated in any crime committed on the app, Durov’s lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, told the AFP news agency, adding: "Telegram complies in all respects with European rules concerning digital technology."
- Durov got bail with a €5 million ($5.56m) deposit. He must check in with police twice weekly and is not allowed to leave France.
"The 39-year-old billionaire’s case is an unprecedented test of the power of governments over multinational tech companies operating under widely varying laws around the world. Durov’s Telegram is unusual for being run from a nonaligned Middle Eastern country, the United Arab Emirates, and for declaring that it shares no information with authorities anywhere about messages or activities on the site," writes The Washington Post.
- According to a French administrative document seen exclusively by POLITICO, French authorities issued arrest warrants for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and his co-founder brother Nikolai Durov back in March, 2024.
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