Durov Arrest of in France: New Details
104- 25.08.2024, 11:37
- 41,922
Will Telegram be closed?
The founder of the Telegram messenger, Pavel Durov, was detained by the French authorities the night before on the runway of Le Bourget airport, near Paris.
What is known about the arrest of Durov in France and what will happen to Telegram, in the article by RBC-Ukraine.
Arrest of Durov
The 39-year-old businessman was arrested after the arrival to Paris from Azerbaijan by his private plane.
Russian media report that Durov was in Baku at the same time as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but it is unknown whether the founder of Telegram met with him or anyone fro his delegation.
At the time of detention, together with Durov, there was a security guard and a woman whose name journalists do not disclose.
France's National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) arrested Durov because he was on the wanted list in France. The warrant for his arrest was issued by the country's judicial police as part of a “preliminary investigation”, the details of which have not yet been disclosed.
Durov allegedly knew about the warrant for his arrest and tried to avoid visits to Europe. The reasons for coming are unknown. At the same time, the French media note that the arrest warrant for Durov is valid only in France.
What Durov is suspected of?
In France, Durov could face charges related to terrorism, drugs, fraud, money laundering, the sale of stolen goods, and sex crimes against children.
These accusations are related to the fact that there is no content moderation in Telegram, and the messenger administration refuses to cooperate with the authorities.
French law enforcement authorities consider Durov an accomplice in crimes committed through Telegram, due to the use of tools such as cryptocurrency and disposable numbers, and the lack of control over the platform.
It is expected that Durov will be officially charged on Sunday, August 25. The probability of release for the duration of the investigation is extremely small, since he has significant resources and opportunities to escape.
What sentence term Durov may face?
It's unclear for now. However, several Russian media outlets, including Izvestia, said Durov could face up to 20 years in prison. It is reported that this information was provided by the French lawyer Alain Duflot, but on the original recording of his words this is not heard.
Telegram History.
Telegram, a cross-platform messenger, offers text, voice and video messaging functions, as well as the ability to make audio and video calls, arrange live broadcasts and create groups and channels.
The idea of Telegram came to Durov during his work on the social media VKontakte. Active development began in 2012. Already in 2013, the official release of Telegram for iOS took place. The Android version came a little later.
As of June 2022, Telegram has entered the top five most downloaded apps in the world, and the number of regular users has exceeded 700 million. At the beginning of 2023, according to the founder of the service Pavel Durov, Telegram became the second most popular messenger in the world, behind only WhatsApp.
Sanctions against Telegram.
A number of media outlets, citing an unnamed source in the European Commission, report the possibility of imposing sanctions against the Telegram messenger.
However, no French or other foreign media have so far reported any European Union plans to impose sanctions against Telegram.
Will Telegram be close?
The question of the possible closure of the Telegram messenger in connection with the arrest of its founder Pavel Durov is quite complex and multifaceted. Because Telegram is designed to be as decentralized as possible. This means that even the arrest of Durov does not automatically mean the termination of the service. Telegram has many servers around the world, and their management is distributed among different people.
At the same time, the laws on blocking instant messengers differ in different countries. In some states, it will be much more difficult to ban Telegram than in others. At the same time, blocking a messenger, especially one as large as Telegram, is a technically difficult task. Users will always find ways to bypass locks.
However, the possibility of partially blocking or strengthening control over the service in some countries cannot be ruled out.
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