French authorities filed preliminary charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and banned him from leaving France until further investigation, according to AP News.
Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport near Paris as part of a massive investigation launched earlier this year. He was released earlier on Wednesday after four days of interrogation. Investigating judges ordered him to post bail of 5 million euros and report to a police station twice a week, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor‘s office.
The charges against Durov, who is also a French citizen, include that his platform is being used to distribute materials about child sexual abuse and drug trafficking, as well as that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators.
The first preliminary charge against him was “complicity in managing an online platform to allow illicit transactions by an organized group. The crime can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros,“ the prosecutor‘s office said.
David–Olivier Kaminski, Durov‘s lawyer, according to French media, said that “it‘s totally absurd to think that the person in charge of a social network could be implicated in criminal acts that don‘t concern him, directly or indirectly.”
Not a political move
Prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility that other people are under investigation, but declined to comment on other possible arrest warrants. Any other arrest warrant would only be disclosed if the subject of such a warrant was detained and informed of his rights, prosecutors said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Durov‘s arrest was not a political move, but part of an independent investigation. Macron posted on X that his country “is deeply committed“ to freedom of expression, but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
In addition to Russia and France, Durov is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island state of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it was “closely following the case” and asked France to provide Durov “with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner.”
Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother after he himself faced pressure from the Russian authorities. In 2013, he sold his stake in the popular Russian social network VKontakte, which he launched in 2006.
