Politico: French investigation into Telegram founders reveals wider scope

According to Politico, French authorities issued arrest warrants for Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov and his brother, co-founder Nikolai, on March 25 this year.

On August 24, Durov was arrested in France on several charges. A day later, an investigating judge extended his pre-trial detention. On August 26, the Paris prosecutor’s office officially charged the arrested founder and head of Telegram with 12 counts, including aiding and abetting the possession of child pornography and the acquisition, transport, possession and distribution of drugs.

However, the document seen by Politico shows that the French investigation into the Telegram messenger is much more extensive than previously known and began several months before it was made public.

The arrest warrants were issued against the Durov brothers, as heads of Telegram, because they refused to cooperate with the French police investigation into sexual violence against children by third parties.

The investigation by the cybercrime department of the Paris prosecutor’s office revealed that the suspect in the case persuaded underage girls to send him “self-produced pornographic content” and then threatened to publish it on social media. The suspect also confessed to investigators to raping an underage child.

Investigators then asked Telegram to identify the suspect, but the messenger did not respond to French authorities.

The document also highlights Telegram’s “almost total lack of cooperation” with French and European law enforcement authorities in other cases.

The messenger Telegram plays a significant role in the Russian-Ukrainian war. It serves as a platform where Ukrainians receive information about alerts and targets across the country. Despite the background of its founder Durov, the Ukrainian military administrations also spread news about casualty numbers on Telegram and sometimes share valuable information that can be of use to Russian troops.

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