French Judge Decides Pavel Durov's Fate In Telegram Crime Case

Pavel Durov, Telegram boss who was born in Russia (photo; x @BRICSinfo)

JAKARTA - French investigative judges are scheduled to decide on Wednesday August 28 whether to place Pavel Durov, the Telegram boss born in Russia, under formal investigation after his arrest of an organized crime investigation into the messaging app.

Durov was detained while landing at an airport near Paris on a private jet on Saturday night, August 24, prompting the spotlight on app provider's legal responsibility and sparking debate over the limits of freedom of speech and law enforcement.

The judge's decision is expected to be announced before 20.00 local time (18.00 GMT), exactly 96 hours - or four days - after Durov was detained, which is the maximum period before the judge decides whether to place him under formal investigation.

According to a Politico report, French authorities also issued an arrest warrant against Nikolai, Durov's brother who was also one of the founders of Telegram, in March. However, the Paris prosecutor's office declined to comment on the arrest warrant because it was still kept secret in the investigation. To date, the only person examined in this case is Pavel Durov.

Durov's arrest also highlighted the uncomfortable relationship between Telegram, which has nearly 1 billion users, and the French government. President Emmanuel Macron, who and his team used Telegram to communicate, had lunch with Durov in 2018 as part of a series of meetings with tech entrepreneurs, according to sources close to Macron.

The placement of a person under formal investigations in France does not mean that he is guilty or will be tried, but points out that the judge considers there is sufficient evidence to continue the investigation. Investigations could last years before the case is brought to trial or terminated.

If Durov, who has been in police custody since his arrest, is placed under formal investigation, the judge will also decide whether to detain him before trial. One of the factors considered is whether Durov has the potential to run away.

A source at the Paris prosecutor's office said that an update on the investigation was likely to be issued on Wednesday evening.

The overall investigation is currently directed at unnamed people. The focus is on alleged involvement in crimes including running an online platform that allows illegal transactions; has images of child sexual abuse; drug trafficking; fraud; refusing to provide information to authorities; and providing cryptographic services for criminals, according to prosecutors.

The prosecutor's office did not mention which crimes were possible against Durov.

In a statement on Monday, Telegram said it was complying with EU law and moderation on the platform "according to industry standards and continues to be improved."

"CEO Telegram Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travel frequently in Europe," Telegram said. "It is absurd to claim that the platform, or its owner, is responsible for the abuse of the platform."

Facing accusations from Russia, as well as Elon Musk, about curbing freedom of speech with Durov's arrest, Macron took an unusual step on Monday by issuing a message on X about what he said was "false information."

France, Macron said, is committed to freedom of speech and independence of the judiciary, which he said himself decided to arrest Durov.

A source close to the matter reiterated on Wednesday that Macron and his administration had nothing to do with the arrests.

The foreign ministry has not responded to a request for comment on a Wall Street Journal report saying that French and United Arab Emirates authorities jointly hacked Durov's phone in 2017. Durov has been a French citizen since 2021.