France charges Telegram founder with aiding and abetting crimes

A lawyer for Pavel Durov, the founder of the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, has called the decision to charge him with aiding and abetting crimes in France as “absurd”.
David-Olivier Kaminski was speaking after Durov was charged in connection with Telegram’s alleged failure to help French police identify criminals who use the platform for offences including child pornography, drug trafficking and money laundering.
“It is totally absurd to think that the head of a social media network can be involved in criminal activities that do not concern him directly or indirectly,” he said.
Kaminsky added that Telegram abided by EU law “in every way”.
Durov, whose arrest on Saturday sent shockwaves across the social media industry worldwide, was granted bail against a payment of €5 million but told he could not leave France.
He will have to report to a police station twice a week during the investigation into allegations that Telegram’s reluctance to introduce content moderation or to co-operate with police forces has enabled criminals to prosper without fear of being identified.
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The strict conditions mean that the Russian-born billionaire will not be able to return to Dubai, where he lives in a villa rented for $1 million a year, according to reports.
In a statement, Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said he had been placed under investigation — the equivalent of charging a suspect in the UK — on suspicion of refusing to communicate information to authorities and of aiding and abetting the publication of child pornography, drug trafficking, fraud in an organised gang and the laundering of the proceeds of crime.
Durov, who also holds French and Emirati passports, was detained after flying into Paris on his private jet on Saturday for a dinner party. An arrest warrant had been ­issued after prosecutors opened an investigation into Telegram’s alleged failure­ to co-operate in the fight against serious crime.
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The Kremlin has been swift to try to make diplomatic capital out of Durov’s arrest, suggesting that he is being persecuted.
“We consider him a Russian citizen and as much as possible we will be ready to provide assistance,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, which has been accused of crushing free speech in an often violent campaign against President Putin’s detractors.
Moscow’s backing for Durov has raised suspicions that he may have cut a deal with Putin’s regime, despite falling foul of Russia’s secret services over Telegram’s reluctance to co-operate with them. Although he no longer lives in Russia, he is reported to have visited the country more than 50 times between 2015 and 2021. Telegram has denied having any sort of agreement with the Russian authorities.
The arrest also infuriated western libertarians such as Elon Musk, the owner of X, who attacked France for supposedly stifling free speech. Musk and others have adopted the hashtag #FreePavel.
Durov, said to be worth $15.5 billion, is a secretive figure. In July, however, he posted on Telegram that he had fathered about 100 children through sperm donations over the past 15 years.
The case is an embarrassment to President Macron, who has held several secret meetings with Durov in recent years, according to Le Monde.
The Wall Street Journal said that, at one lunch in 2018, Macron sought to persuade him to move Telegram’s headquarters to France. Durov refused.
According to reports, Durov told police that he had been planning to dine with Macron at the Élysée after his arrest.
Macron, who is on a two-day visit to Serbia, said at a press conference on Thursday that he was “not aware” of Durov’s arrival in France and was not scheduled to meet him.
Macron has himself been a Telegram user, as were his ministers — until they were ordered to use an official French encrypted platform last year.
In a statement on Sunday, Telegram said Durov had “nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe”, adding: “Telegram abides by EU laws … It is absurd to claim a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
With more than 900 million users, Telegram has undergone rapid growth in recent years but been criticised over its failure to moderate content. Durov proclaimed the platform to be a bastion of free speech as a result of its policy.
French legal sources said that the police also wanted to question Durov’s elder brother Nikolai, a lower-profile figure who is seen as the mathematical brain behind Telegram.
French media said that the police had been trying to locate him since March but had not been able to do so.