Telegram CEO Pavel Durov indicted, placed under judicial supervision in France

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been indicted and placed under supervised release by a Paris court on Aug. 28 following his recent arrest on charges including terrorism and child abuse content.

Durov has been indicted and placed under judicial supervision. He needs to post bail of 5 million euros, report to the police station twice a week and is banned from leaving French territory, according to press releases.

The ruling comes after Durov was taken into custody at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Aug. 26 and subsequently transferred to a Paris courthouse. The court’s decision centers around accusations that Durov failed to moderate criminal content on his encrypted messaging platform, Telegram.

Durov is not allowed to leave France.

Durov’s charges

Durov, a Franco-Russian billionaire, has faced legal challenges, with French authorities accusing him of complicity in various illegal activities, including child sexual abuse material, cybercrimes, and drug trafficking. He faced 12 alleged charges.

This outcome of the trial will have wide-reaching implications for both Durov and Telegram, as the platform has been under scrutiny for its role in facilitating criminal activities.

The arrest sparked a sharp decline in Toncoin (TON), the crypto linked to Telegram, which plunged 20% to $5.3, with a market cap falling to $13.6 billion. 

The crypto community expressed strong support for Telegram founder Pavel Durov following his arrest in France over allegations of inadequate moderation of criminal activity on the platform.