Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been placed under judicial supervision in France, barred from leaving the country, and required to pay a bail of five million euros, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Durov, 39, was arrested on Sunday at Paris’s Le Bourget airport, with charges including cybercrime, money laundering, and importing cryptological equipment without prior declaration. He must report to the police twice a week. The investigation, which began in February, is led by the cyber unit of the French Gendarmerie and the customs fraud division.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Durov received French citizenship in 2021, despite declining an invitation from President Emmanuel Macron to move Telegram’s headquarters to Paris. The publication also claimed that French and Emirati intelligence services hacked Durov’s phone in 2017, suspecting Telegram was being used by terrorist groups.
Following his arrest, a source close to Durov alleged that Telegram had ignored French court orders to remove illegal content. Telegram’s team insists the platform complies with EU laws.
French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that Durov’s case was not politically motivated, while Russia has accused France of “double standards.”
