"For several weeks": Telegram founder Pawel Durow has left France
In August, the Telegram founder was arrested in Paris. After initial criticism, he apparently cooperated with the authorities.
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Six months after his arrest in Paris, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has left France with the permission of the authorities and has apparently flown to Dubai. This was reported by the French daily newspaper Le Monde, citing several anonymous sources. The judge in charge allowed him to leave France "for several weeks", after which he set off for the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, where his messaging service is now based. The charges in France therefore still stand. Durov has Russian, French and Emirati citizenship.
Arrested at the airport
In a sensational operation, Durov was arrested in Paris in August, where the local judiciary made serious allegations in connection with the moderation of content on his platform. It was alleged that the moderation obligations on Telegram were not sufficiently enforced and that there was a lack of willingness to cooperate with the relevant authorities in taking action against criminal acts. Telegram has long been suspected of providing a haven for people with criminal intentions. Durov initially criticized the allegations and claimed that they could be made against all major social networks, but has since apparently changed his mind.
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According to Le Monde, Durow was confronted with more than a dozen specific cases linked to Telegram while in the custody of law enforcement officers. These involved child abuse, drug trafficking, fraud, arms sales and the hiring of hitmen. Durow later admitted that it was only during this process that he understood the seriousness of the allegations. In the months that followed, Telegram cooperated much better with the authorities and, among other things, intensified its measures against the spread of images of abuse.
(mho)
