Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been banned from leaving France after being charged with complicity in running an online platform that allegedly enabled the distribution of child pornography, casting uncertainty over the future of the messaging app that has become one of the world’s largest social media platforms.
Durov was arrested on Saturday at 8 p.m. local time after his private jet landed at an airport near Paris. He was later detained for four days like part of the investigation into the alleged criminal activity that took place on Telegram. He was indicted on Wednesday evening local time and banned from leaving the country, according to a statement issued by the Paris prosecutor. He was released under court supervision, the statement said, and must post bail of 5 million euros ($5.5 million) and report to police in France twice a week.
Telegram’s founder is under formal investigation for a series of allegations involving child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, importing crypto without prior declaration, as well as “almost no cooperation” with French authorities, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Wednesday.
French authorities noted that “Telegram has barely responded to legal requests,” Beccuau noted. “This is why JUNALCO [the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime] to open an investigation into the criminal liability of the executives of this messaging service for committing these crimes,” she said. The preliminary investigation began in February 2024 and the initial investigations were coordinated by OFMIN, an agency set up to prevent violence against minors, her statement added.
“It is absurd to suggest that a platform or its owners should be held responsible for the misuse of that platform,” Telegram said on Sunday, before Durov was charged. The platform, which has 900 million active users, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
Since his arrest, both the UAE and Russia have requested consular access to Durov, who holds citizenship in both countries. It is unclear why Durov, who also obtained a French passport after leaving Russia, is in France. “I am not on vacation,” he said on his Telegram channel in June.
Russia has claimed, without evidence, that Durov’s arrest was an attempt by the United States to exert influence over the platform through France. “Telegram is one of the few and at the same time the largest internet platforms where the United States has no influence,” Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said on the app.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Durov’s arrest was “absolutely not a political decision.” “The enforcement of the law depends on the judiciary, which is completely independent,” he added. in the post on X. The European Commission told WIRED that the arrest was made under French criminal law and was not related to new european regulations for technology platforms. “We are closely monitoring developments regarding Telegram and stand ready to cooperate with French authorities if necessary,” a spokesperson said, declining to be named.
