According to a report from the Newyork times on Aug 28. Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, has been released on bail set at 5 million euros (about $5.5 million) after being charged in France.
Pavel Durov was charged by French authorities on Wednesday with multiple charges, including complicity in managing a platform used for illegal transactions and failing to cooperate with law enforcement.
He was detained on Saturday and has since been placed under formal investigation.
According to Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, stated that Telegram has been linked to several serious crimes including child exploitation, drug trafficking, and online hate crimes. She noted that Telegram has shown a “near-total absence” of response to requests for cooperation from Paris prosecutors, leading to the charges against Durov.
The concerns raised by French prosecutors are shared by other legal authorities in France and across Europe, who have also encountered difficulties in obtaining cooperation from Telegram in criminal investigations.
As part of his release, Durov has also been ordered not to leave the country and also report to a police station twice a week.