The Paris criminal court has released details on the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who was taken into custody on August 24 in connection with a cybercrime investigation.
TechCrunch reports that Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested by French authorities on August 24. The arrest, which initially lacked an official explanation, sparked speculation and concern among Telegram’s massive user base and the tech community at large.
However, the Paris criminal court has now shed light on the reasons behind Durov’s arrest. According to a press release from the court, the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a preliminary investigation against Durov on July 8 related to efforts to combat cybercrime. The investigation has been led by the Centre for the Fight against Cybercrime (C3N) and the Anti-Fraud National Office (ONAF).
The court has filed a total of 12 charges against “a person unnamed,” a term used in the French judicial system to refer to the individual in charge of Telegram. These charges can be categorized into four main areas:
1. Complicity in storing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) content, facilitating drug trafficking, and facilitating organized fraud and other illegal transactions.
2. Refusing to cooperate with law enforcement when formal requests for information or documents are made.
3. Failing to formally declare or certify Telegram’s cryptographic features with French authorities, which are considered minor offenses.
4. Participating in a “criminal association with a view to committing a crime or an offense punishable by 5 or more years of imprisonment,” as well as money laundering.
The charges related to CSAM content, drug trafficking, and fraud likely stem from Telegram’s moderation processes, or lack thereof. With 950 million monthly active users and a small team of only 30 engineers, Telegram has faced criticism for its limited moderation tools and processes.
The money laundering charge may be connected to Telegram’s recently introduced digital currency called Stars, which can be converted to Toncoin, the cryptocurrency used by the platform for various paid features. Investigators may suspect that Telegram has failed to adhere to “know your customer” requirements for its crypto-related features, potentially facilitating money laundering.
French President Emmanuel Macron has claimed that Durov’s arrest was not a political decision, but rather a matter for the independent judiciary system to handle. Durov, who usually resides in Dubai and holds multiple passports, can be detained and interviewed by French authorities for up to 96 hours. After that, the court will decide whether to formally indict him on some or all of the charges and whether he should remain in custody as a preventive measure.
Read more at TechCrunch here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.