Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Faces Probe Over Illicit Activities, Detained in France

Telegram founder Pavel Durov is under investigation for facilitating illicit activities on the messaging app. Detained by French authorities at Paris airport, Durov faces a potential 10-year jail term if convicted. He's been released on bail but must regularly check in with the police.

Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, is the subject of a formal investigation for allegedly enabling illicit activities on the messaging platform. French authorities have barred him from leaving the country, according to CNN. Notably, Durov was detained at an airport outside Paris under a pre-existing arrest warrant.

Customs officers from France's anti-fraud office apprehended Durov on Saturday evening at Bourget Airport, following his arrival from Azerbaijan, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported. The warrant alleges Durov failed to moderate content, leading to the platform being used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and sharing pedophilic material.

Following his arrest, Durov was released from police custody and transferred to court for questioning, as reported by CNN. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced that Durov had been ordered to post bail of USD 5.5 million and was released under the condition that he report to a police station twice a week, per The New York Times.

Beccuau emphasized that Telegram has been implicated in several criminal cases in France concerning child abuse, drug trafficking, and online hate crimes, but has exhibited a 'near-total absence' of cooperation with prosecutors. Authorities in France and other European nations have observed similar issues, prompting organised crime prosecutors to investigate the 'potential criminal liability of executives' at Telegram, as reported by The New York Times.

If convicted, Durov could face up to 10 years in prison. He is under investigation for various alleged offenses, including facilitating illegal gang transactions, laundering crimes in an organized manner, and withholding information from authorities, as stated by French prosecutors, CNN reported.

France issued an arrest warrant for Durov, citing charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children, and fraud due to insufficient moderation on Telegram and his lack of cooperation with law enforcement, according to the Moscow Times. The Russian-born founder of Telegram, now a French citizen who resides in Dubai, has previously left Russia in 2014 after refusing to share user data with Russian security services. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)