Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been charged with crimes related to illegal activity on his messaging app. French authorities detained Durov on Saturday, Aug. 24, when the Russian-born tech executive’s plane touched down near Paris.
They held and questioned him for four days and officially charged him with complicity in distributing child abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.
Prosecutors said Durov did not respond to requests for materials related to investigations involving child sex crimes, drug trafficking, and hate crimes committed by others on Telegram.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the court ordered Durov to pay bail of nearly $5.5 million, prohibited him from leaving France, and required him to report to a police station twice a week.
Critics of Durov’s arrest accuse the French government of censorship.
French media quoted a lawyer for Durov who said, “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.”
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X: “France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so. In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
