Telegram CEO Durov placed under formal investigation and banned from leaving France

NEWS WIRES

28 August 2024 at 9:18 am·1-min read

Russian-born Pavel Durov, the CEO of messaging app Telegram, will be placed under formal investigation after four days of questioning by French police and is forbidden to leave French territory, Paris prosecutors said on Wedneday following Durov's appearance in a Paris court. Durov was arrested outside of Paris on Saturday in a probe of 12 alleged crimes related to drug trafficking, the sale of child sexual abuse material and fraud on the messaging platform.

French authorities handed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov preliminary charges Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app, and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.

Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a sweeping judicial inquiry opened last month, and released earlier Wednesday after four days of questioning. Investigative judges filed the preliminary charges Wednsday night and ordered him to pay 5 million euros bail and to report to a police station twice a week.

Among those voicing support for Durov is fellow tech tycoon and chief executive of X, Elon Musk, who has posted comments under the hashtag #FreePavel.

(AP)

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