French Authorities Charge Telegram CEO with Facilitating Criminal Activities on Platform
Aug 29, 2024
Online Crime / Privacy
French prosecutors on Wednesday formally charged Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with facilitating a litany of criminal activity on the popular messaging platform and placed him under formal investigation following his arrest Saturday. Russian-born Durov, who is also a French citizen, has been charged with being complicit in the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as well as enabling organized crime, illicit transactions, drug trafficking, and fraud. Durov has also been charged with a "refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law," according to an English translation of the press release. The 39-year-old was detained at Le Bourget airport north of Paris at 8 p.m. local time on Saturday after disembarking from a private jet. To avoid pretrial detention, Durov has been ordered to pay a €5 million bail, but he is barred from leaving the country and must rep...