Telegram CEO Pavel Durov indicted in France, barred from leaving the country

Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app. The French Judiciary charged the 39-year-old billionaire for allegedly allowing criminal activity on the messaging app. However, the Russian-born tech entrepreneur has managed to evade jail time with a whopping €5 million bail.

According to a statement released by the Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, Durov, who also has French citizenship, was granted the release on the condition that he would report to the police station twice a week and remain in France.

The tech mogul was detained on Saturday at the Le Bourget airport, just outside Paris and was accused of failing to act against illicit content on the service, including the exchange of child sexual imagery, drug trafficking and fraud. The controversial case has now put a spotlight on the criminal liability of Telegram, the popular app which has around 1 billion users. The arrest also sparked debate over the concepts of free speech and government censorship.

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What are the charges? 

In the statement released by the Paris prosecutor on Wednesday, the charged placed by the French authorities against Durov are as follows:

• Complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable illicit transactions by an organised gang

• Refusal to communicate with authorities

• Complicity in organised criminal distribution of sexual images of children

It is pertinent to note that in France if a person is “put under investigation” that does not necessarily mean that he is guilty of the crime he has been charged with. It also does not result in trials always. It just means that the judge who is overseeing the case believes that there is enough of a case to proceed with an investigation.

While Durov is yet to make a public statement on the matter, his lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, reiterated that Telegram complied in every respect with European digital regulations and was moderated to the same standards as other social networks. He went on to call it “absurd” to suggest that his client could be involved “in criminal acts that don’t concern him either directly or indirectly.”

Durov’s case is unprecedented when it comes to the owner of a social media platform being arrested because of the way the platform is being used. In the past, tech bosses have been lectured by lawmakers about their practices and failings, but they have never been detained in such a manner.

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‘Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg’

Durov who is touted as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg”, lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates. Telegram has been long under the radar of the authorities due to its alleged use by terrorist organisations, drug traffickers, arms dealers and far-right extremist groups for communication, recruitment, and coordination.

Meanwhile, Durov has repeatedly boasted about the minimal moderation on his platform and has often pledged to ensure free speech. Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with the Kremlin’s order to shut down opposition groups on the VK social network that he founded when he was 22.

Russia eventually attempted to ban Telegram in 2018, which Durov co-founded with his brother Nikolai in 2013. However, the Russian authorities lifted all restrictions on the platform in 2021.

With inputs from agencies.