France closes official investigation against Telegram boss Pavel Durov | Technology News

Durov was released on bail on the condition that he pay bail of five million euros ($5.56 million) and not leave France.

An official investigation has been launched against Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov as part of an investigation into organized crime in the social media and messaging app.

Durov’s arrest, after he landed in Paris on a private jet on Saturday, has drawn attention to the criminal liability of app providers and sparked a debate about where freedom of expression ends and enforcement of the law begins.

On Wednesday, the French judicial authorities opened an official investigation against French citizen Durov. He is accused, among other things, of not cooperating with the authorities in criminal investigations and of aiding and abetting criminal acts via his messaging app.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement that an investigating judge believed there were grounds to officially investigate Durov on all the charges that led to his original arrest.

The charges include suspected complicity in operating an online platform that facilitates illegal transactions, child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as refusing to provide information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals.

Telegram’s “almost complete lack of response” to authorities’ requests for cooperation in criminal matters prompted the Paris prosecutor’s office’s cybercrime unit to launch an investigation in February 2024, Beccuau said.

“Other French investigative authorities and prosecutors, as well as various partners within Eurojust, notably the Belgian ones, shared the same observation” regarding Telegram’s lack of compliance, she said.

Durov’s lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski told AFP it was “absurd” to claim he could be involved in a crime committed through the app. He added: “Telegram complies in all respects with European regulations on digital technologies.”

In France, the opening of a formal investigation does not automatically mean that a defendant is guilty or that he or she will be brought to trial. However, it does indicate that judges believe the case has sufficient substance to continue the investigation. Investigations can take years before they are brought to court or closed.

Durov was released on bail on condition that he pay a five million euro ($5.56 million) bond, is required to report to police twice a week and is barred from leaving France.

In a statement on Monday, Telegram said it complies with European Union laws and its moderation “meets industry standards and is constantly improving.”

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently throughout Europe,” it said. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”

In addition to Russian and French citizenship, Durov also holds citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island state of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it was “closely following the case” and had called on France to “urgently provide Durov with all necessary consular services.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed his hope that Durov would have “all the necessary opportunities for his legal defense,” adding that Moscow was “ready to provide the Telegram CEO, as a Russian citizen, with all necessary assistance and support.”

“However, the situation is complicated by the fact that he is also a French citizen,” Peskov said.

Amid accusations from Russia and X owner Elon Musk that France was suppressing freedom of expression by arresting Durov, President Emmanuel Macron took the unusual step of publishing what he called “false information” on X on Monday.

Macron said on Monday that Durov’s arrest was not a political move but part of an independent investigation.

Macron wrote that his country was “deeply committed” to freedom of expression, but “freedoms are safeguarded both on social media and in real life within a legal framework to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”