Pavel Durov’s detention extended until Wednesday

Telegram boss Pavel Durov’s detention has been extended until Wednesday, August 27, on 12 counts of organized crime. “This is not a political decision””, Emmanuel Macron assured on Monday.

arrest From the President of Telegram In France, it triggered many international reactions. “This is part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is by no means a political decision. This is for the judges to decide.”the head of state wrote on X.

The Justice Ministry criticized Pavel Durov for not taking action to combat criminal use of their information by subscribers, particularly for a lack of moderation and cooperation with investigators.

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Police extended his detention until Wednesday and held a total of 96 hours of hearings on his alleged links to organized crime, according to people familiar with the matter.

Macron condemns ‘false information’

denounce ‘Fake news’ Regarding France after these arrests, the President assured: “France attaches great importance to freedom of expression and communication, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will continue to do so».

“In the rule of law, on social networks as in real life, freedom is exercised within the framework established by the law to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights. The judicial system must enforce the law in complete independence.””, Emmanuel Macron insisted.

Pavel Durov’s bodyguards and assistants followed closely behind Arrested Saturday night at the Le Bourget terminal (Paris North). The founder of Telegram arrived from Baku and planned to spend at least one night in Paris, where he planned to have dinner.

The 39-year-old Franco-Russian billionaire is in police custody as part of a judicial investigation launched by the National Jurisdiction against Organized Crime (Junalco) following a preliminary inquiry on July 8, involving 12 criminal acts, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau detailed in a press release.

These include, among others, the refusal to communicate the information required for legally authorized interceptions, complicity in illegal acts and crimes organized on the platform (drug trafficking by organized gangs, child pornography, fraud and money laundering), and the provision of services whose cryptography is intended to ensure confidentiality without requiring compliance declarations.

The investigating judge in charge of the case entrusted the investigation to the Centre for Combating Digital Crime (C3N) and the National Anti-Fraud Office (Onaf).

His bodyguards and aides were questioned by investigators before being released, according to people familiar with the matter.

Telegram, a controversial messaging service

“Pavel Durov has nothing to hide, he travels frequently to Europe”assured Telegram on its own channel on Sunday evening. “It’s absurd to say that platforms or their bosses are responsible for abuse” The company added that it was noticed on the above mentioned platforms.

“Telegram complies with European law, including the Digital Services Regulation, and its moderation practices are industry standard””, she further affirmed.

Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolaï launched the online messaging service in 2013, whose communications can be encrypted end-to-end and is headquartered in Dubai. Data.

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Telegram has more than 900 million users, and the company specifically promises to never leak information about its users.

The Dubai-based CEO has the backing of X boss Elon Musk. “Freedom. Freedom! Freedom? »he wrote on his platform on Sunday.

The Kremlin issued its verdict on Monday ‘Not suitable’ No comment on the arrests at this stage. “We don’t know specifically what Durov is accused of, and we haven’t heard any official statement on this issue yet.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the statement before the Paris prosecutors made the clarification. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday “The Russian Embassy in Paris immediately began work as per usual practice” Detention of Russian citizens abroad.