The CEO of the social media platform Telegram has been indicted by authorities in France, who levied six charges against him over illicit activity that happens on the platform.
Those charges were handed down to Pavel Durov on Wednesday, though he was released from French custody on bail of €5 million. Under terms of the bail release, he’s not allowed to leave the country, and he has to check in twice per week at a police station.
In a press release, the prosecutor’s office in Paris said that Durov has been charged with complicity in managing an online platform “in order to enable an illegal transaction in an organized group,” as well as refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.
France has also charged Durov with counts related to “organized gang distribution” related to drug trafficking and child endangerment.
A judge has to investigate the charges further now, and they can be dropped later on.
In the statement, the prosecutor’s office wrote:
“[Telegram] appears in multiple cases involving various offenses. … Telegram’s almost total failure to respond to judicial requests. … When consulted, other French investigation departments and public prosecutors’ offices, as well as various Eurojust partners, notably Belgian, shared the same observation.
“This led … to opening an investigation into the possible criminal responsibility of the managers of this messaging service.”
The statement said that they opened a preliminary investigation back in February. In March, French authorities then issued a warrant for Durov as well as his brother Nikolai.
After the prosecutor’s office released its announcement, David-Olivier Kaminski, who is serving as Durov’s attorney, said:
“The only statement I’d wish to make is that Telegram is in conformity with every aspect of European norms on digital matters. It is absurd to think that the head of a social network is being charged.”
The shocking arrest of Durov, who’s undoubtedly one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in tech in the world, has created “diplomatic furor,” as Politico described it, between the French, Russian and United Arab Emirates governments.
The arrest was made in France by authorities there. Durov, who was born in Russia, holds dual citizenship in both France and Russia. And Telegram is based in the UAE.
Durov was arrested on Saturday night at the Le Bourget airport in Paris. It was the biggest development in the huge investigation that French authorities have been conducting into illicit activity that they say takes place on the Telegram platform.
The platform is based in Dubai and long has been scrutinized for its hands-off approach to censorship. There have also been accusations of rampant organized crime, cyber-bullying, drug trafficking, terrorism promotion and fraud on the social media platform.
Telegram posted an online statement after Durov was arrested, saying that the company abides by all laws of the European Union, and that its CEO “has nothing to hide.”
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he issued Durov a French passport in 2018 as part of a wider decision by the government to try “to attract athletes, artists and innovators” to the country.
