The French justice system has charged this Wednesday the Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durovon charges ranging from money laundering to complicity in the dissemination of paedophile images. The Russian-born billionaire, who had been in custody for four days, has been released on bail of five million euros and is required to report to police twice a week and is banned from leaving France.

Durov, who is estimated to be worth almost €14 billion, was arrested on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of an investigation into cybercrime, including 12 counts of illegal transactions, child pornography, fraud and refusal to disclose information to the authorities, the public prosecutor said. The investigating judges asked the Centre for Combating Digital Crime (C3N) and the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) to continue their investigations.

The founder of Telegram, a Franco-Russian national but resident in Dubai, is the subject of several legal proceedings in France for failing to act to prevent organized crime on his social network and failing to cooperate with the authorities investigating such crimes. Lack of moderators on the platformwhere drug trafficking, cryptocurrency fraud and terrorism apology take place, is at the center of the case.

Each platform moderates illegal content as best it can, and all of them receive thousands of requests from governments to reveal the identity of users who share criminal content. Most companies comply with these requests and cooperate with the authorities. The charges against Durov relate to his “complicity” or lack of attention and collaboration with the authorities and even “associating with criminals,” which is punishable by five years in prison.

Telegram, which has 950 million active users, allows the creation of groups of up to 200,000 members, which also makes it a content platform. These groups are created around common interests: they can be political, cultural or information on a specific topic. Audiovisual piracy groups are also proliferating.

Both the Russian and UAE governments have requested consular access to the accused. French President Emmanuel Macron has also requested consular access to the accused. He posted a message on social network X on Monday to rule out the idea that Durov’s arrest was “a political decision” and to defend the independence of the judiciary. “France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation and entrepreneurship, and will remain so. In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are defended within a legal framework, both on social networks and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,” he added.

Telegram, for its part, said in a statement that its CEO has nothing to hide and that he travels frequently around Europe. “It is absurd that a platform or its owner should be held responsible for abuses on its platform. (…) We hope for a quick resolution of this situation,” the company added. It explained that its messages are secure due to their encryption and that it does not collect or reveal information about its users, and that it complies with EU regulations and that its moderation system “adheres to industry standards and is constantly improving.”

Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with demands to close opposition communities on his social media platform VK, which he later sold. He founded Telegram with his brother Nikolai in 2013 and has emerged as a champion of free speech. He revealed that some governments had tried to pressure him, but that his app should remain a “neutral platform” and not a “player in geopolitics”.

Durov’s obsession with internet freedom and user anonymity has been total ever since. However, he does not distinguish between authoritarian regimes that seek out dissidents and judges in democratic countries who want to curb the spread of paedophile content or piracy.

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