A French investigating judge ordered the extension of police custody from the CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov. Now, the Russian businessman will be detained 48 more hours and, after that period, the authorities must put it into freedom or press charges against him.
Durov was arrested on Saturday evening upon arrival at Le Bourget airport. The French courts accuse him of not take action to prevent use from the chat platform, Telegram, for various criminal purposes.
The situation of Pavel Durov
Durov was arrested on Saturday evening as part of a judicial investigation opened last month in connection with 12 alleged criminal offences. Among the main ones are: complicity in the sale of child sexual abuse material and in the drug traffic; fraud; complicity in organized crime operations and refusal to share information or documents with researchers when required by law.
Now, after being arrested for two days, the French Justice, through a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office, communicated the extension of detention for 48 hours. After this period, the authorities must set him free either bring charges against Telegram’s CEO.
The French President, Emmanuel Macronsaid on Monday that the arrest of the Russian businessman was not a political measure, but was part of an independent investigation. Through his X account, the French leader assured that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression” but also declared that “freedoms” must be defined “within a legal framework” with the aim of “protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights”.
For its part, from Telegram denied the accusations which are charged to its CEO and founder and stated that the application complies with current regulatory laws. “Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and frequently travels to Europe” they assured and then added that the application “complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act. Its moderation is within industry standards“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse,” the company concluded.
In contrast, the French judicial authorities in charge of the Telegram case detailed that “Pavel Durov will end up definitively in preventive detention. On his platform, he allowed a countless number of crimes and misdemeanors “with respect to which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate (with law enforcement).”
Who is Pavel Durov, the creator of Telegram?
Durov was born in 1984 in the Soviet Unionbut moved to Italy when he was 4, he told Tucker Carlson in an interview earlier this year. The family returned to Russia in 2001, when the Russian businessman was beginning his career in the Bachelor of Philosophy from St. Petersburg State UniversityHe later trained to be an interpreter and translator.
It was during his academic training that Durov created a online bookstoreso that his university colleagues could sharing notes and books. Thus, and after the participation of his colleague Vyacheslay Mirilashvili who raised money to expand the project, it was born. Vkontakte (VK) a social network that, like Facebook, began with origins only for students.
Just one year after its creation, VK already had 3 million users. Today, the social network remains the most popular in Russia and other European countries, with more than 100 million active users.
The social network’s growth was steady but its abrupt exit was due to an emerging conflict with the Russian Kremlin. VK began to be used by protesters to organize rallies in Kyiv against Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovychin 2013.
Once the tension began, Durov argued that his company had been taken over by allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who gathered 88% of VK shares. This is how Durov decided to leave his native country in 2014, after selling his participations for around US$300 million.
Shortly after going into exile, Durov created Telegram in August 2013. The businessman noted that: “I created Telegram to be able to communicate with my brother and the people around me without fear of being spied on”.
The instant messaging application stands out for its security and encrypted chats. Currently, the app has 900 million users and is available in more than 20 languages.
Source: Ambito
