Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, has been charged in France for failing to act against users’ criminal activities, according to media reports.
Durov was detained for nearly four days, starting on Saturday, with his detention extended once, before appearing in a Paris court on Wednesday, as reported by broadcaster BFMTV.
French judges formally charged Durov but released him on €5 million (approximately $5.5 million) bail under judicial supervision, with a restriction on leaving France, according to the broadcaster.
He faces charges of “complicity” in the distribution of child abuse images and “complicity” in drug trafficking, BFMTV reported, citing the Paris prosecutor.
Durov was arrested on Saturday evening upon disembarking from his private jet at Bourget Airport in Paris, according to French media. The 39-year-old Franco-Russian, listed as wanted in France, had just arrived from Azerbaijan when he was apprehended.
The French National Judicial Police issued the search warrant after a preliminary investigation, which focused on Telegram’s lack of moderation, believed to have allowed criminal activities to continue unchecked on the platform.
