Editor's note: The article was updated with the details of Pavel Durov's case published by Reuters.
Telegram CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov was charged in a French court on Aug. 28 with complicity in the distribution of sexual images of children and other crimes, such as drug trafficking through the messaging app, Reuters reported.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccou said that the judge concluded that there were grounds for a formal investigation into all 12 charges on which Durov was initially detained four days ago, according to Reuters.
The charges include suspicions of complicity in the management of an online platform that allows for illegal transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraud, as well as refusal to provide information to the authorities, money laundering, and providing cryptographic services to criminals.
Durov was granted bail on the condition that he will pay 5 million euros ($5.6 million), report to police twice a week, and not leave French territory.
Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris on Aug. 24 after landing in his private jet. Born in St. Petersburg, Durov obtained French citizenship in 2021 but is believed to live in Dubai.
On Aug. 28, Politico reported that France issued arrest warrants for Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai Durov, founders of the Telegram messaging service, already in March.
The document obtained by Politico showed that the French investigation into Telegram is more extensive and was launched several months earlier than previously thought. AFP reported earlier that the investigation was opened in July.
Pavel Durov, who has a net worth estimated at $15.5 billion, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the Russian social media platform VK, which he subsequently sold.
Durov has claimed he is a pariah and has been effectively exiled from Russia, but on Aug. 27, it was reported he had visited Russia over 60 times since leaving the country, according to Kremlingram, a Ukrainian group that campaigns against the use of Telegram in Ukraine.
Telegram remains one of the most popular social media platforms among Ukrainians. A September 2023 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology indicated that 44% of Ukrainians use Telegram to receive information and news.
Telegram is also widely used by Ukrainian officials and various government institutions against the advice of Ukraine's TV and radio-broadcasting body.
Kateryna Denisova
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