Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been indicted on a series of organized crime charges. He has been released on bail and ordered to comply with certain obligations.
Arrested Saturday in Le Bourget, Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, was indicted this Wednesday, August 28 by two investigating judges after four days in police custody. He is accused of twelve offenses including “complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable an illicit transaction, as part of an organized gang”, “laundering of crimes or offenses as part of an organized gang”, “complicity in the distribution as part of an organized gang of images of minors of a child pornography nature”, “complicity in drug trafficking” and “supply and import of a means of cryptology not exclusively providing authentication or integrity control functions without prior declaration”.
Some of them are liable to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 euros. The courts accuse him of not taking action against the criminal use of his messaging service by users, following a lack of moderation and collaboration with investigators.
The billionaire was finally released under judicial supervision and is therefore not subject to the electronic bracelet. However, he is required to report to the police station twice a week and cannot leave the country. He must reside at the address set by the judge. He will also have to pay bail of 5 million euros. If he does not pay this sum or fails to meet any other of his obligations, his judicial supervision will be revoked. The investigating judge can then issue an arrest warrant or a warrant to bring him before the judge of liberties and detention, who will decide whether or not to place him in pre-trial detention.
Pavel Durov targeted by another investigation
At the beginning of the year, a preliminary investigation was launched by the J3 section of the Paris prosecutor’s office dedicated to cybercrime and entrusted to the juvenile office (Ofmin) of the judicial police before the anti-crime office and the national anti-fraud office (Onaf) attached to customs took over, reports Release. Subsequently, a search warrant was issued in March against Pavel Durov, as well as his brother Nikolai, who is none other than the co-founder of Telegram. In the hands of the investigating judges since July 8, the latter had opened a judicial investigation against X, the investigations being entrusted to the ONAF and the Center for the Fight against Digital Crime (C3N) of the gendarmerie.
Two days after Pavel Durov’s arrest, Emmanuel Macron, on his X account, tweeted to refute any “political decision” in the latter’s arrest. For its part, Telegram assured that it complied with current European regulations, particularly the Digital Services Act (DSA), explaining that its founder “has nothing to hide”. The announcement of Pavel Durov’s arrest also sparked a wave of indignation on social media. #FreeDurov hashtags emerged, and paper planes, the symbol representing the company, were placed in front of the French embassy in Moscow. Russia itself warned France against “any attempt at intimidation”.
According to franceinfoPavel Durov would also be the target of an investigation for “serious violence” against one of his children, who now lives with his mother. An investigation has been opened with the juvenile office. The ex-partner of the Russian “Mark Zuckerberg” filed a complaint in 2023 for these facts.