Telegram’s Pavel Durov freed from custody, awaits court ruling

French-Russian billionaire Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been released from police custody but has been referred to a Paris courthouse where he faces multiple charges including terrorism and child abuse content.

Durov was taken to a Paris courthouse on Wednesday, August 28, to face a possible indictment, according to AFP. He was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris over the weekend on charges of failing to moderate criminal content on the encrypted messaging platform.

On August 26, a French investigating judge extended Durov’s police detention by 48 hours, meaning he must be released in the coming hours or face trial on some of the charges he was charged with.

Accusations Against Durov

French authorities have alleged that Durov’s platform was used for illegal activities, which Telegram denies. Some of the charges include complicity in the sale of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, facilitating organized crime and refusing to share information with investigators.

According to Politico, French authorities were also interested in Pavel’s brother Nikolai Durov, and issued arrest warrants for both brothers in March, stemming from Telegram’s failure to cooperate with a child sexual abuse investigation.

The arrest led to a sharp drop in Telegram-affiliated cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON), which fell 20 percent to $5.3, while its market value fell to $13.6 billion.

The crypto community has expressed strong support for Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France over allegations of inadequate monitoring of criminal activity on the platform.