The ‘Tribunal Judiciaire De Paris,’ France’s Judicial Tribunal, has revealed a 12-count charge against Pavel Durov, Telegram’s chief executive officer.
The 39-year-old tech entrepreneur and founder was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris over the weekend. The arrest stems from allegations that Telegram’s lack of content moderation has facilitated illegal activities, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of pedophilic content.
New documents seen by BusinessDay revealed that Durov’s arrest is in connection with a judicial investigation that began on July 8, 2024, following a preliminary inquiry initiated by Section J3 – JUNALCO (Fight against Cybercrime) of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office.
It read, “This judicial investigation was opened on charges of:
“1. Complicity; web-mastering an online platform in order to enable an illegal transaction in organised group.
“2. Refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law.
“3. Complicity; possessing pornographic images of minors.
“4. Complicity; distributing, offering or making available pornographic images of minors, in organised groups.
“5. Complicity; acquiring, transporting, possessing, offering or selling narcotic substances.
“6. Complicity; offering, selling or making available, without legitimate reason, equipment, tools, programs or data designed for or adapted to get access to and to damage the operation of an automated data processing system.
“7. Complicity; organised fraud.
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“8. Criminal association with a view to committing a crime or an offence punishable by 5 or more years of imprisonment.
“9. Laundering of the proceeds derived from organised group’s offences and crimes.
“10. Providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration.
“11. Providing a cryptology tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.
“12. Importing a cryptolog.”
The document also noted that an investigative magistrate extended his custody period until the 25th of August, 2024, and can last up to 96 hours (the 28th of August, 2024), given the applicable procedure for organised crime offenses.
With Durov being a Russian, Russian government officials have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.
The relationship between Russia and France is at its “lowest” level following Durov’s arrest, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
The Kremlin said France had levelled “very serious” charges against Durov on Tuesday, as it warned against trying to intimidate him.
On his X handle, President Emmanuel Macron noted that Durov’s arrest was not political.
He said, “It is up to the justice system, in complete independence, to ensure that the law is respected. The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”
Also, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed that it is “closely following” Durov’s case and that it had “submitted a request to the French government to provide him with all consular services urgently.”
Durov is a citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates, and Telegram is based in Dubai. “Caring for citizens, preserving their interests, following up on their affairs, and providing them with all aspects of care are a top priority for the UAE,” the ministry added.
