The CEO and co-founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been formally charged by French authorities with multiple violations relating to the operation of the popular messaging app.
The 39-year-old Franco-Russian billionaire, Durov was arrested on August 24, 2024, at Le Bourget airport near Paris under a warrant issued for his reported involvement in several criminal activities facilitated through Telegram.
Durov’s charges include conspiring in the administration of an online platform allowing illicit transactions, refusal to cooperate with authorities by withholding requested documents, and the spread of child pornography images.
The tech boss is also accused of enabling drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering through the Telegram app.
However, despite the seriousness of the charges, Durov was granted conditional release after he posted a bail of five million euros, but under the terms of his release, he must remain in France, report to a police station twice a week, and is barred from leaving the country, according to a statement from Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau.
The French judicial authorities began investigating Telegram in February 2024, following concerns about the messaging platform’s “near total absence of a response” to law enforcement requests.
