The creator of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov returned to Dubai after several months of forced stay in France.
“As you may have heard, I returned to Dubai after several months spent in France in connection with the investigation related to the activities of criminals in Telegram. The process continues, but I am very pleased to return home,” Durov wrote in his Telegram channel on Monday, March 17.
August 24, 2024, Pavel Durov was detained at the Parisian Airport Le Burret. On August 28, in the evening, his preliminary detention ended, the entrepreneur was sent to the court, where the court investigator brought Pavel Durov to six points, which include complicity in the administration of the network platform in order to allow illegal transactions as part of a criminal group.
Such an offense, according to the statement of the Prosecutor’s Office of Paris, can be punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of 500 thousand euros. By the decision of the investigative judge, the entrepreneur was placed on trial with the obligation to make a deposit of 5 million euros. He was also ordered to appear in the police station twice a week and is forbidden to leave the territory of France.
December 6, 2024, Pavel Durov, for the first time after his detention in France, arrived in the Paris Court for interrogation on the merits of the case of possible involvement in criminal activity carried out using the messenger. It was noted that the entrepreneur refused to comment on the course of the trial and the charges against him, saying only that he “believes in French justice.”
He thanked the investigative judges “for allowing this to happen”, as well as his lawyers and the team “for their tireless efforts aimed at demonstrating that when it comes to moderation, cooperation and fighting crime, Telegram for many years not only fulfilled his legal obligations.”
“I am grateful to the investigating judges for allowing me to leave France,” Durov noted in his publication.