The founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of an inquiry into organized crime on the messaging app, according to Paris prosecutors.
The 39-year-old Durov has not been taken into custody but is under judicial supervision. He is required to pay a €5 million (£4.2 million; $5.6 million) deposit and must report to a French police station twice a week.
He is also prohibited from leaving French territory.
Durov, a Russian-born billionaire who also holds French nationality, was initially detained upon arriving at Le Bourget airport north of Paris last Saturday, under a warrant related to offenses connected with the app.
In a statement on Wednesday, Paris prosecutors detailed that Durov’s formal investigation involves allegations of:
- Complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable illicit transactions by an organised gang
- Refusal to communicate with authorities
- Complicity in organised criminal distribution of sexual images of children
In France, being placed under formal investigation does not imply guilt or guarantee a trial; rather, it signifies that judges believe there is sufficient reason to initiate an investigation.
Mr. Durov has yet to comment publicly on the recent developments.
His lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, stated that Telegram adheres to European digital regulations and is moderated to the same standards as other social networks.
Kaminski described it as “absurd” to suggest that his client could be involved in “criminal acts that are not directly or indirectly related to him.”
The arrest of a social media platform owner due to the use of their platform is unprecedented and has sparked a vigorous debate online about freedom of speech and accountability.
While tech leaders have previously faced intense questioning from lawmakers about their practices, they have not been confronted by law enforcement at airports.
Elon Musk, owner of X, has defended Mr. Durov, labeling moderation as a “propaganda word” for censorship and calling for his release.
Chris Pavlovski, founder of the controversial video-sharing app Rumble, has reportedly fled Europe following Mr. Durov’s detention.
Although most major social networks engage with national and international authorities regarding serious criminal offenses, such as child sexual abuse imagery, Telegram is accused of neglecting these interactions.
The company, now based in Dubai, maintains that its moderation practices align with industry standards.
French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that France was deeply committed to freedom of expression, and that the decision to hold Mr Durov was “in no way… political”.
Huge groups of up to 200,000 people can share and comment on information and content on Telegram – WhatsApp on the other hand limits its maximum group size to just over 1,000.
While Telegram messages can be encrypted, meaning that only the sender and recipient can view them, this is not activated by default and has to be manually switched on to private chats.
On Monday evening, Paris prosecutors said Mr Durov was being held in custody as part of a cyber-criminality investigation. In response, Telegram said Mr Durov had “nothing to hide”.
Russia said that without a “serious basis of evidence”, the charges could be seen as an act of “intimidation” against a major technology company for political purposes.
“Given {Mr Durov’s] Russian citizenship, we are ready to provide all necessary help and assistance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. “But here the situation is complicated by the fact that he is also a French citizen.”
Telegram is recognized as one of the leading social media platforms. Established in 2013, it enjoys significant popularity in Russia, Ukraine, other former Soviet Union states, and Iran.
According to the BBC, Telegram, which boasts over 950 million registered users, has consistently declined to participate in international programs designed to detect and remove child abuse material online.
The BBC has reached out to Telegram for a comment on its refusal to join these child protection initiatives.
Mr. Durov, the founder of Telegram and the popular Russian social media platform VKontakte, departed Russia in 2014 after resisting government demands to shut down opposition communities on his platform. He also holds passports from St Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates.