Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, has returned to Dubai after spending several months in France under investigation for alleged criminal activity on the platform.
French authorities are probing crimes including drug trafficking, money laundering, and the distribution of explicit images of children, which Durov has denied.
Durov, who holds Emirati citizenship, was arrested near Paris in August and initially barred from leaving France. He was placed under investigation and required to pay €5 million for bail, in addition to reporting to a police station twice a week. However, the French authorities have since relaxed these conditions, allowing Durov to leave the country temporarily. “As you may have heard, I’ve returned to Dubai after spending several months in France due to an investigation related to the activity of criminals on Telegram,” Durov wrote in a post on the app. “The process is ongoing, but it feels great to be home.”
In his post, Durov expressed gratitude towards the investigative judges, thanking them for permitting his temporary departure. He also reiterated Telegram’s commitment to moderation and combating criminal activity on the platform. “When it comes to moderation, cooperation, and fighting crime, for years Telegram not only met but exceeded its legal obligations,” he stated.
Durov had previously commented on the challenges of Telegram’s rapid growth, acknowledging that the platform’s surging user numbers had made it easier for criminals to exploit the service. Despite these challenges, he emphasized that Telegram is not an “anarchic paradise.”
The investigation into Durov and Telegram is ongoing, with preliminary charges indicating that authorities have strong grounds for believing that criminal activity took place on the app.
