Paris, A French court judge on Wednesday granted conditional bail to Telegram boss Pavel Durov. As a bail condition, he has been asked to post a bail of five million euros and report to the police twice a week.
Along with this, he has also been banned from leaving France. Pavel Durov was detained pending a formal investigation under organized crime. Paris prosecutor Lore Bacque said in a statement that the judge thought there were sufficient grounds to open an investigation into all the charges against Paul.
Paul was arrested four days ago. He faces charges including involvement in illegal transactions, distribution of child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud, refusal to provide information to authorities, money laundering and running an online platform that allows suspects to provide cryptographic services to criminals.
Durov's lawyer did not comment. A formal investigation into a lawsuit does not mean that the person is guilty or that the case will necessarily go to court, but that judges have found enough evidence to investigate the case further. Such cases can drag on for years before being sent to trial or closed.
The decision comes after Russian-born Durov was arrested at an airport near Paris on Saturday evening. Durov's arrest has sparked debate about the balance between freedom of expression and compliance with the law.
It also highlights the complicated relationship between Telegram, which has nearly 1 billion users, and governments, and is a warning to tech giants who do not cooperate with authorities about alleged illegal activities on their platforms. Russian state news agency RIA published a video on Telegram. , which shows Durov, dressed in black and wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, exiting the prosecutor's office and entering a waiting vehicle.
Reuters did not confirm the authenticity of the photos. Paris public prosecutor Laure Bacque said Telegram had been used for many criminal activities and that Telegram was almost uncooperative when the court asked them for information.
Because of this, France's cybercrime unit launched an investigation against Telegram, which is looking into whether Telegram's administrators are responsible for these crimes. The investigation began in February and charges were laid in July.
Telegram has not said anything more on the matter. In a statement released on Monday, Telegram said it complies with European laws and that its moderation policy is in line with industry standards. He said that Durov had nothing to hide, and that he often traveled to Europe. It is wrong to say that the owner should be held responsible for the misuse of the platform. Durov has citizenship of France, Russia and UAE. SS1MS
