The Russian born tech tycoon faces six charges and is barred from leaving France.
PARIS -French authorities on Wednesday indicted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with six charges related to illicit activity on the app.
Durov was also released from custody on a âŹ5 million bail. He is forbidden from leaving France and must check in at a police station twice a week.
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The charges include complicity in managing an online platform âin order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group,â and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, the Paris prosecutorâs office said in a press release.
Governments in Paris, Moscow and Abu Dhabi have become tangled up in a diplomatic furor by the bombshell arrest of one of the worldâs most powerful tech entrepreneurs, which also ignited a fierce debate about online free speech and technology regulation.
Durov was also charged with âcomplicity in the offenses of making available without legitimate reason a program or data designed for⊠organized gang distribution of images of minors presenting child pornography, drug trafficking.â
Telegram âappears in multiple cases involving various offenses (child sexual abuse offenses, trafficking, online hate),â the prosecutorâs office wrote, pointing to âTelegramâs almost total failure to respond to judicial requests.â
âWhen consulted, other French investigation departments and public prosecutorsâ offices, as well as various Eurojust partners, notably Belgian, shared the same observation,â it added. âThis led⊠to opening an investigation into the possible criminal responsibility of the managers of this messaging service.â
A preliminary investigation was opened in February, the statement added. French authorities issued warrants for both Durov and his brother Nikolai in March, according to a French administrative document seen exclusively by POLITICO.
âThe only statement Iâd wish to make is that Telegram is in conformity with every aspect of European norms on digital matters. It is absurd to think that the head of a social network is being charged,â Durovâs lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski said after the announcement.Â
The Russian-born tech tycoon was detained at Parisâ Le Bourget airport on Saturday night, as part of a sprawling inquiry into criminal activity on the messaging platform.
Telegram, a messaging app based in Dubai, has long been scrutinized over accusations of rampant fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism promotion and cyber-bullying on the platform.
After Durovâs arrest, Telegram pushed back strongly against any suggestion of wrongdoing in an online statement Sunday, saying it abides by all EU laws and that Durov âhas nothing to hide.â