Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Now Released on €5 Million Bail

Key Points:

• Telegram founder Pavel Durov was released on bail with strict conditions.
• Durov must pay €5 million bail, report to police twice weekly, and is prohibited from leaving France as part of his judicial supervision.
• Durov also faces an ongoing investigation in Switzerland related to child abuse allegations filed by his ex-partner.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov was let out on bail after his arrest, a move that has come under intense judicial supervision.

Read more: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest Draws Vitalik’s Concern Over Western Bias

France Charges Telegram Founder Pavel Durov

Telegram founder Pavel Durov was ordered to pay a bail of €5 mln (around $5.5 mln) and has to present himself at the police station twice a week. He is banned from leaving France. All these conditions were confirmed by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau in a statement released on August 28.

Paris prosecutors have announced the arrest of Durov in France. The founder of the popular messaging service was arrested by French police after arriving from Azerbaijan on Aug 24.

Charges against him are complicity in leading an online platform that allowed organized groups to conduct illegal transactions, for which Durov can go up to 10 years into imprisonment. He has further been charged with allowing the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, and lack of cooperation with law agencies.

Durov Faces Legal Troubles in France and Switzerland

The investigation against Durov and Telegram began on July 8, 2024, for illegal activities on their platform connected with fraud, narcotics trafficking, organized crime, child exploitation, and promoting terrorism. The French also criticized Durov, who they claimed had not taken proper measures to impede such activities.

Apart from his legal troubles in France, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was investigated in Switzerland after his ex-partner Irina Bolgar filed a criminal complaint against him.

The complaint of child abuse is part of the larger legal battle, which involves allegations of owing back child support against him and a heated, bitterly contested child custody battle. Bolgar said Durov beat their youngest son, causing continuing anxiety and sleep disorders. The Swiss probe remains ongoing, though Geneva prosecutors showed some initial reluctance.