Founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been allowed to return to his home in Dubai while French authorities continue their legal case against him.
The billionaire was arrested in August 2024 after being accused of not doing enough to control illegal activities on Telegram. He denies claims that he failed to help law enforcement stop drug trafficking, child abuse content, and fraud. Telegram has also rejected accusations of poor moderation.
This case is historic, as it is the first time a tech leader has been arrested for crimes linked to their platform.
In a message on his Telegram channel, Durov said, “The process is ongoing, but it feels great to be home.”
He was first detained in Paris when he arrived on his private jet, and French judges initially refused to let him leave. However, on Monday, a French court announced that his travel restrictions had been lifted from March 15 to April 7. No further details were given about his release conditions.
Durov was born in Russia and holds multiple citizenships, including French, Emirati, and St Kitts and Nevis. Telegram is widely used in Russia, Ukraine, other former Soviet countries, and Iran.
‘Relentless efforts’
Telegram has about 950 million users worldwide and has always promoted itself as a platform that values user privacy over the stricter policies followed by other major social media companies.
However, investigations by the BBC and other media outlets have revealed that criminals have been using the app to sell drugs, offer cybercrime and fraud services, and even share child abuse content.
It led one expert to brand it “the dark web in your pocket”.
The firm has previously said his arrest is unfair, and he should not be held liable for what users do on the platform.
From his home in Dubai, Mr Durov thanked the French judges for letting him go home.
He also thanked his lawyers for their “relentless efforts in demonstrating that, when it comes to moderation, cooperation, and fighting crime, for years Telegram not only met but exceeded its legal obligations”.
Since Pavel Durov’s arrest, Telegram has made several changes to how it operates.
The platform has joined the Internet Watch Foundation, an organization that helps detect, remove, and report child abuse content online.
Telegram has also announced that it will share the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who break its rules with the police if requested through legal channels.
Additionally, the company has started publishing transparency reports showing the amount of content it removes. This is a common practice in the tech industry, but Telegram had previously refused to follow it.
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