Telegram CEO Durov Granted Bail, Now Under Formal Investigation

Durov is finally placed under investigation on six charges, and he was prohibited from leaving France during the investigation, Beccuau added Wednesday night, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

The founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, Pavel Durov, was released after posting a five-million-euro, or about $5.6 million, bail, but he must report to the police twice a week, Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.

Durov is finally placed under investigation on six charges, and he was prohibited from leaving France during the investigation, Beccuau added Wednesday night, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

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On Saturday night, Durov was detained by the French police at an airport outside of Paris. "The founder of Telegram is accused of 12 criminal offenses: failure to take action against Telegram users involved in cyberbullying, sharing pedophilic content, and glorification of terrorism," said Beccuau on Monday.

He added the arrest "comes in the context of a judicial investigation opened on July 8, 2024." It also concerns "refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law," said the prosecutor of the city of Paris.

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In response to the arrest, the Telegram group said in its X account, formerly known as Twitter, that the company "follows all the laws of the European Union, including the Digital Services Act." "It's absurd to hold a platform or its owner responsible for abuse of that platform," it added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that the arrest of Durov is "in no way a political decision." Durov's arrest in France "took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation," Macron said on social media platform X.

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After the detention, Russia's embassy in Paris has sent a note to the French Foreign Ministry requesting consular access to Durov, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was cited as saying by the TASS news agency.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the owner of the US social media platform X, and Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency contractor, condemned Durov's arrest on Sunday.

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