French authorities ban Telegram founder Durov from leaving the country during criminal investigation – Novinite.com

Paul DurovFounder and CEO of telegramis currently being officially investigated by the French authorities for alleged illegal activities on the messaging platform. As part of the investigation Durov is not allowed to leave France. He was arrested by the French authorities at an airport outside Paris after an arrest warrant was issued against him. The arrest took place at Bourget Airport, where Durov arrived on a flight from Azerbaijan. Officials from FranceThe Russian anti-fraud office, which is attached to French customs, took the French-Russian billionaire into custody, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

The investigation stems from allegations that telegram has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and the distribution of paedophile content, all due to inadequate moderation on the platform. French prosecutors have pointed out that telegram is involved in several criminal proceedings within Franceincluding child sexual abuse, drug trafficking and online hate crimes. Despite these serious concerns telegram has shown a “almost complete absence” of cooperation with law enforcement authorities, said Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

After his imprisonment Durov was released from police custody and brought before the court for further questioning. He was ordered to pay $5.5 million bail and to report to a police station twice a week. Prosecutors in Franceand judicial authorities in Belgium and other European countries have identified similar problems with telegramwhich led to the opening of an investigation in February into the “potential criminal liability of executives at this messaging platform,” the New York Times reported.

In case of conviction Durov could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The charges against him include aiding and abetting illegal gang business, laundering money from crimes within an organized gang and refusing to provide necessary information to the authorities. These charges are part of the broader allegations related to the criminal use of telegram And DurovThe French public prosecutor pointed out that France had not cooperated with the law enforcement authorities.

The Russian-born Durovwho also founded the social network VKontakte, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to share VKontakte users’ data with Russian Security services. Despite Russia’s efforts, telegram Although the platform refused to provide its users' online communications to security services, it continued to operate. Durovwhich now has over 900 million users on telegrambecame a naturalized French citizen in August 2021 and currently lives in Dubai.