Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been released from prison and is now under judicial supervision with strict conditions, including posting a bail of €5 million.

Durov is currently banned from leaving French territory and must report to police twice a week as required by the court.

According to a statement from the French Anti-Organized Crime Agency (JUNALCO), the Paris Court of Justice has formally charged Durov with six crimes, including “complicity in managing an online platform that enabled illegal transactions within an organized gang,” money laundering and refusing to provide information to authorities.

Failure to comply with legal requirements

According to the document, authorities were forced to act after Durov failed to comply with judicial requests from JUNALCO, the National Office for Crimes Against Children (OFMFIN), and other investigative agencies related to drug trafficking, child sexual content, and fraudulent activities.

The announcement stated:

“This is the reason why JUNALCO opened an investigation into the possible criminal liability of the heads of this messaging service in relation to the above-mentioned crimes.”

Notably, the French Digital Crime Center (C3N) and the National Anti-Fraud Office of Customs (ONAF) will continue to take over further investigations.

French prosecutors stressed that the investigation is related to Telegram's failure to register its encrypted messaging service with the French government.

Durov, known for his staunch defense of freedom of speech and opposition to content censorship on Telegram, has faced criticism from child protection organizations, who say the platform has become a hotbed for child sexual abuse content (CSAM) and has not fully cooperated in efforts to combat the problem.

Telegram says it uses a combination of human moderators, artificial intelligence (AI), and user reports to remove CSAM from public channels, but has yet to provide a method for reporting illicit activity in private chats.

Durov’s arrest has sparked a wave of protests from free speech advocates and tech industry figures. Many have criticized the arrest as a human rights violation and questioned whether other social media platform executives should be held accountable when their platforms are abused by bad actors.

Some have suggested that French authorities are trying to monitor or access Telegram communications. However, French President Emmanuel Macron has insisted that Durov's arrest is part of a judicial process and not politically motivated.

Meanwhile, the TON community formed a DAO to campaign for Durov's freedom and published an open letter calling for his release.

Source: https://tapchibitcoin.io/pavel-durov-duoc-tha-sau-khi-paid-5-trieu-euro-tien-bao-lanh-va-bi-giam-sat-tu-phap.html