Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been formally charged with 12 offenses in France following his Saturday arrest according to a Court of Paris press release. Authorities are alleging he is complicit in the possession and distribution of child pornography and drugs and allege he is involved in money laundering, among other offenses.
The charges include:
1. Complicity: web-mastering an online platform in order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group
2. Refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law
3. Complicity: possessing pornographic images of minors
4. Complicity: distributing, offering or making available pornographic images of minors, in organized group
5. Complicity: acquiring, transporting, possessing, offering or selling narcotic substances
6. Complicity: offering, selling or making available, without legitimate reason, equipment, tools, programs or data designed for or adapted to get access to and to damage the operation of an automated data processing system
7. Complicity: organized fraud
8. Criminal association with a view to committing a crime or an offense punishable by 5 or more years of imprisonment
9. Laundering of the proceeds derived from organized group’s offences and crimes
10. Providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration
11. Providing a cryptology tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration
12. Importing a cryptology tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration
The press release also states that "It is within this procedural framework in which Pavel Durov was questioned by the investigators."
Durov was served an arrest warrant as soon as he landed at the French Bourget airport at 8 pm local time while traveling on his private jet. Authorities stated that he was being detained for alleged offenses of terrorism, narcotic supply, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods and others due to conversations that had occurred on Telegram. The app provides end-to-end encryption messaging which allows users to have their chats kept inaccessible to third parties. Duvov is facing 20 years in prison for lack of moderation of his app.
This is a breaking story. Refresh for updates.
The charges include:
1. Complicity: web-mastering an online platform in order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group
2. Refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law
3. Complicity: possessing pornographic images of minors
4. Complicity: distributing, offering or making available pornographic images of minors, in organized group
5. Complicity: acquiring, transporting, possessing, offering or selling narcotic substances
6. Complicity: offering, selling or making available, without legitimate reason, equipment, tools, programs or data designed for or adapted to get access to and to damage the operation of an automated data processing system
7. Complicity: organized fraud
8. Criminal association with a view to committing a crime or an offense punishable by 5 or more years of imprisonment
9. Laundering of the proceeds derived from organized group’s offences and crimes
10. Providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration
11. Providing a cryptology tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration
12. Importing a cryptology tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration
The press release also states that "It is within this procedural framework in which Pavel Durov was questioned by the investigators."
Durov was served an arrest warrant as soon as he landed at the French Bourget airport at 8 pm local time while traveling on his private jet. Authorities stated that he was being detained for alleged offenses of terrorism, narcotic supply, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods and others due to conversations that had occurred on Telegram. The app provides end-to-end encryption messaging which allows users to have their chats kept inaccessible to third parties. Duvov is facing 20 years in prison for lack of moderation of his app.
This is a breaking story. Refresh for updates.
