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Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire and CEO of social media app Telegram, was launched in France on Wednesday after being arrested in reference to an “ongoing judicial investigation,” the Paris prosecutor’s workplace informed ABC Information.
Durov will probably be introduced earlier than the choose for “questioning in the course of the first look, with a potential indictment,” the Paris public prosecutor’s workplace mentioned.
The company has not introduced when Durov will seem in court docket.
Durov, 39, was arrested at Le Bourget airport exterior Paris shortly after touchdown in a non-public jet late on August 24. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his arrest two days later.
In keeping with the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Workplace, Durov is accused of being passive in cyber and monetary crimes on the Telegram platform. He faces twelve costs.
This picture illustration exhibits the Telegram emblem on quite a lot of screens on August 26, 2024 in London.
illustration by Leon Neal/Getty Pictures
The costs relate to baby pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, prosecutors introduced Monday.
In his assertion, Macron insisted that Durov’s arrest was “not political,” saying: “France is hooked up greater than something to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation and to the spirit of enterprise. It will stay the case.”
What’s Telegram?
Telegram is likely one of the hottest messaging apps on this planet, with roughly 800 million lively customers and a big person base in Russia and Ukraine.
Launched in 2013, Telegram was designed to deal with rising considerations about digital privateness and censorship. Not like many messaging apps of the time, Telegram was constructed with a deal with safety, with end-to-end encryption and options that prioritized person privateness.
The app’s recognition skyrocketed, making Durov one of many richest individuals on this planet. In keeping with Forbes, he has an estimated web value of round $15.5 billion.
The app distinguished itself from rivals corresponding to Fb Messenger, WeChat and WhatsApp by means of its dedication to freedom of expression and its opposition to authorities censorship.
The app has positioned itself as a haven for activists and journalists, with options together with self-destructing messages, secret chats, and strong channel performance.
Moreover, Telegram affords a platform for bigger messaging teams, permitting 200,000 customers to be added to a chat.
As a consequence of its giant group sizes, Telegram has been criticized for internet hosting far-right and extremist teams. Most lately, the UK authorities condemned Telegram for its position in extremist teams that organized riots throughout the nation in July.
Who’s Pavel Durov?
Durov was born in 1984 in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2006, he started his profession within the know-how sector with the founding of the Russian social community VKontakte (VK).
VK, much like Fb, rapidly gained recognition amongst Russian-speaking customers, offering a platform for social interplay, content material sharing and networking.
Nonetheless, the platform’s success attracted the eye of the Russian authorities, and Durov got here below growing strain to adjust to authorities requests to launch person information.
In 2014, Durov was compelled to depart VK after he refused to adjust to calls for to shut opposition teams on the platform.
Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, speaks throughout a keynote session at Cellular World Congress in Barcelona on February 23, 2016.
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg through Getty Pictures, FILE
He reportedly refused to dam the web page of late Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny on the platform.
After Durov stop his job at VK, he left Russia and moved to Dubai, the place he headed Telegram, which had been based a yr earlier, in 2013.
Durov frequently travels to Europe from the United Arab Emirates and was granted French citizenship in 2021.
Response to Durov’s arrest
Following Durov’s arrest final weekend, Elon Musk posted the hashtag #FreePavel on X, sharing a clip from an earlier interview the Telegram founder had with Tucker Carlson.
In a message on X, American whistleblower Edward Snowden referred to as Durov’s arrest “an assault on the basic human rights of expression and affiliation.”
“I’m stunned and deeply saddened that Macron has stooped to the extent of taking hostages as a way of getting access to non-public communications. It degrades not solely France, however the world,” Snowden wrote.
ABC Information’ Hugo Leenhardt and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov launched from custody in France forward of court docket look
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