Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport on the outskirts of Paris on August 24, 2024. He was taken into police custody at 8 p.m. local time.
Prosecutors in France announced on Monday that Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into criminal activities on the platform and alleged non-compliance with law enforcement requests.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated that the arrest is related to an investigation launched on July 8. She noted that this investigation targets “person unnamed” on various potential charges, including “complicity in the distribution of child pornography, selling drugs, money laundering, and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement.”
Beccuau emphasized that the investigation is being conducted by specialists in cybercrime and anti-fraud. “It is within this procedural framework that Pavel Durov was questioned by the investigators,” she said.
Durov’s arrest is part of an ongoing judicial investigation that began on July 8, 2024. This investigation was initiated by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, specifically by Section J3 – JUNALCO, which focuses on cybercrime.
The charges against Durov include:
- Complicity in managing an online platform to facilitate illegal transactions by organized groups.
- Failure to provide requested information or documents necessary for legal interceptions.
- Complicity in possessing and distributing pornographic images of minors.
- Complicity in acquiring, transporting, possessing, offering, or selling narcotic substances.
- Complicity in providing equipment or tools designed to access and damage automated data processing systems without legitimate reasons.
- Complicity in organized fraud.
- Association with criminal groups to commit offenses punishable by five or more years in prison.
- Money laundering related to crimes committed by organized groups.
- Providing cryptology services aimed at ensuring confidentiality without proper certification.
- Offering cryptology tools not solely for authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.
- Importing cryptology tools for authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.
The judicial investigation is being carried out with the collaboration of the Centre for the Fight against Cybercrime (C3N) and the Anti-Fraud National Office (ONAF). Durov is being questioned under this procedural framework, with his custody extended until August 25, 2024. The extension allows for a detention period of up to 96 hours, which could extend to August 28, 2024, in accordance with procedures for organized crime offenses.
