Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, a Franco-Russian billionaire, was released from police custody and transferred to a Paris courthouse to face multiple charges, including terrorism and child abuse content.

According to reports, Durov was moved on Wednesday, Aug. 28, to a Paris courthouse for a possible indictment. He was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris over the weekend, accused of failing to moderate criminal content on his encrypted messaging platform.

On Aug. 26, a French investigative judge extended Durov’s police custody for up to 48 hours, meaning Durov had to be released or charged with some of his accused crimes in the coming hours.

Charges Against Durov

The French authorities have accused Durov’s platform of being used for illegal activities. However, Telegram denies these charges. Some of the accusations include:

  • Complicity in selling child sexual abuse material
  • Drug trafficking
  • Fraud
  • Abetting organized crime transactions
  • Refusing to share information with investigators

French authorities were also interested in Nikolai Durov, Pavel’s brother, and issued arrest warrants for both brothers in March. These warrants stemmed from Telegram’s lack of cooperation in a child sex abuse investigation.

The arrest caused a sharp decline in Toncoin, the cryptocurrency linked to Telegram, which dropped 20% to $5.3, with its market cap falling to $13.6 billion.

The crypto community expressed strong support for Telegram founder Pavel Durov following his arrest in France over allegations of inadequate moderation of criminal activity on the platform.

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