https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/business/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-charged.html

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Telegram Founder's Arrest

  * What We Know
  * The Charges
  * Who Is Pavel Durov?
  * A Free Speech Flashpoint
  * Crypto Industry Defends Durov

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Telegram Founder Charged With Wide Range of Crimes in France

Pavel Durov, who was arrested near Paris over the weekend as part of
a broad investigation into criminal activity on the platform, was
also barred from leaving the country.

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Pavel Durov, dressed in black, speaks from a stage with his hands
folded in front of him.
The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, shown in 2014, was released in
Paris on bail of about $5.5 million. Credit...Jim Wilson/The New York
Times
Aurelien BreedenAdam Satariano

By Aurelien Breeden and Adam Satariano

Aurelien Breeden reported from Paris, and Adam Satariano from London.

Aug. 28, 2024
Leer en espanol

Pavel Durov, the Russian-born entrepreneur who founded the online
communications tool Telegram, was charged on Wednesday in France with
a wide range of crimes for failing to prevent illicit activity on the
app, and barred from leaving the country.

His indictment was a rare move by legal authorities to hold a top
technology executive personally liable for the behavior of users on a
major messaging platform, escalating the debate over the role of tech
companies in online speech, privacy and security and the limits of
their responsibility.

Mr. Durov, 39, was detained by the French authorities on Saturday
after a flight from Azerbaijan. He was charged on Wednesday with
complicity in managing an online platform to enable illegal
transactions by an organized group, which could lead to a sentence of
up to 10 years in prison.

He was also charged with complicity in crimes such as enabling the
distribution of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking and
fraud, and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.

Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said in a statement that Mr.
Durov had been ordered to pay bail of 5 million euros, or about $5.5
million. He was released from custody but must check in at a police
station twice a week.

Telegram has played a role in multiple criminal cases in France tied
to child sexual abuse, drug trafficking and online hate crimes, but
has shown a "near-total absence" of response to requests for
cooperation from law enforcement, Ms. Beccuau said.

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