Key Points
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France last week.
- Durov has now been charged with a number of violations relating to the app.
- He has been granted conditional release against a bail of five million euros.
The chief of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been placed under formal investigation after being charged by the French judiciary with a range of charges related to the app.
Durov was granted conditional release on Wednesday (local time) against a bail of five million euros ($8.19 million) and on the condition he must report to a police station twice a week. He will also be unable to leave France, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement following an hours-long hearing with two investigating magistrates.
Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations.
The charges concern alleged crimes involving an organised group including “complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable an illicit transaction”.
Durov has also been charged with refusing to share documents demanded by authorities as well as “dissemination in an organised group of images of minors in child pornography” as well as drug trafficking, fraud and money laundering.
The prosecutor said that the French judicial authorities had been made aware of the “near total absence of a response” from Telegram to requests from the authorities and had first opened an investigation in February 2024.
Telegram is a popular encrypted messaging and social media app similar to WhatsApp. It was founded in 2013 by Durov and his brother Nikolai.
A man in front of the Judicial Court in Paris holds a placard reading ‘Durov, give us back the wall’. Source: EPA / Mohammed Badra
Durov’s arrest in France has caused outrage in Russia, with some government officials calling it politically motivated and proof of a double standard on freedom of speech.
The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block the Telegram app but failed – withdrawing the ban in 2020.
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 a statement posted on its platform after Durov’s arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving”.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said.
“Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”
