What is known about the Pavel Durov case

August 29, 2024 1056

The founder of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov left the courthouse in Paris, where he was charged with numerous charges in connection with the administration of the messenger

Earlier, a judicial investigator charged Pavel Durov with six counts. They include complicity in the administration of a network platform in order to allow illegal transactions as part of a criminal group. For such an offense, according to the statement of the Paris prosecutor's office, a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of € 500 thousand can be threatened.

Preventive measure

  • According to the decision of the investigating judge who conducted the case, Durov was placed under judicial supervision with an obligation to post bail in the amount of € 5 million.
  • He was also ordered to report to the police station twice a week and was forbidden to leave the territory of France.

The charges brought

  • A court in Paris has charged the co-founder of Telegram with six of the 12 offenses already announced, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
  • We are talking about "complicity in illegal transactions within the framework of organized criminal activity in the administration of an online platform." According to the prosecutor's office, the maximum penalty for this is 10 years in prison and a fine of 500 thousand euros.
  • Durov is also accused of "refusing to provide authorized bodies with information or documents necessary for the commission and use of legally permitted interceptions", "complicity in the distribution of pornography involving minors", "drug trafficking", "transfer, provision of programs or data intended or adapted to undermine or access to the work of an automated data processing system", and "fraud as part of an organized group".
  • Other charges include "helping to evade responsibility for crimes within an organized group", "providing a cryptographic tool without prior declaration", "supplying and importing a cryptographic tool that does not exclusively provide authentication or integrity control functions, without prior declaration".

The case is in Switzerland

  • Swiss authorities are investigating Durov in connection with Irina Bolgar's statements that the businessman allegedly beat their child, Forbes magazine reported.
  • According to him, the lawsuit was filed in Geneva in March 2023. It claims that Durov "used physical violence" to one of the three children of the businessman and Bulgarians together.
  • She also filed a civil lawsuit for child custody, accused the co-founder of Telegram of refusing to meet with children in September 2022 and paying funds for their maintenance in the amount of € 150,000 per month.
  • The Bulgarian lawyer confirmed to Forbes the participation of the woman and her three children in the proceedings. He also announced the start of proceedings on another civil claim in June 2024. The case concerns the payment of alimony.

The search for Durov's brother

  • Nikolai Durov, Pavel Durov's brother, is also wanted in France, the European edition of Politico reported, citing a court document.
  • It is noted that arrest warrants for Pavel and Nikolai Durov were issued on March 25 on charges of complicity in the possession, distribution or provision of access to pornographic images of minors as part of an organized group.
  • According to the newspaper, they were issued after a request, which remained unanswered by Telegram, to identify one of the messenger users accused of distributing and producing child pornography.
  • The use of Telegram by criminal gangs is also indicated as a justification for the arrest warrants of the Durov brothers.