What else is going on with Pavel Durov and Telegram?: Case update

General manager Telegramcitizen of Russia and France Pavel Durovwas finally charged and placed under formal investigation in France this Thursday, August 29, on a wide range of criminal charges related to his messaging platform.

The main charges are allegations of operating a company that was involved in the storage and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), facilitating drug trafficking, and facilitating organized fraud and other illegal transactions.

Updates on the situation with Pavel Durov:

Thursday, August 29:

• Durov was released on the condition that he not leave France during the investigation. Bail was set at 5 million euros (about $5.6 million), and he must report to the police station twice a week.
• In a statement, Paris prosecutor Laura Beccuo confirmed all the charges and said the investigation was moving forward. The fact that Durov is under formal investigation means that he is formally suspected of what he is accused of.
• The prosecutor’s statement summarized why Durov was in police custody, and Becqua wrote that Telegram “is involved in many cases involving various crimes (child pornography, human trafficking, online hate speech).”
• The prosecutor also commented: “The almost complete lack of response by Telegram to judicial requests has been brought to the attention of the cybercrime department (J3) of the National Court for Organized Crime (JUNALCO) of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, in particular the National Office for Minors (OFMIN),” he also wrote. During the consultations, other French investigation departments and prosecutors, as well as several Eurojust partners, in particular Belgian ones, expressed the same opinion. “This prompted JUNALCO to open an investigation into the possible criminal liability of the directors of this courier service for these crimes,” Beccouau added.

Telegram currently has 950 million monthly active users and few moderation tools and processes. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Durov said that only 30 engineers work on the social app.