Telegram founder Pavel Durov will remain in custody until Wednesday. The charges against him are serious.
The pre-trial detention of Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been extended until Wednesday evening. The news agencies AFP and Reuters reported this, citing investigators, as reported by “Spiegel”. An investigating judge must then decide on the next steps.
Serious allegations against Durow: aiding and abetting child abuse and drug trafficking
Durow was arrested on Saturday evening at Le Bourget airport near Paris. The French authorities initially gave no information about the reasons. On Monday, the Paris public prosecutor's office published a list of charges. According to Spiegel, Durow is accused of, among other things, aiding and abetting the organized distribution of child abuse material and drug trafficking on Telegram. Money laundering and membership in a “criminal organization” are also mentioned.
Telegram sharply criticized the arrest in a statement. The company called it absurd that an app owner was being held “responsible for the misuse of the platform.” “Telegram follows EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” the company said, according to Spiegel. The company has long been criticized for inconsistently deleting illegal content and for its lack of cooperation with authorities.
Dubious security promise and Russian accusations
Telegram aggressively advertises its security promise. However, cryptography expert Matthew Green attests in the Guardian that the app has security deficiencies because the messenger does not offer standard end-to-end encryption. Telegram boss Pavel Durov nevertheless claims that Telegram is more secure than other messengers. He sharply criticized Signal and WhatsApp and suggested that these services had been compromised by the US government.
It is therefore hardly surprising that Russia promptly made accusations that the USA was behind the arrest. According to “Spiegel”, Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin suspected that the United States wanted to gain control of Telegram. However, the Russian hardliner has so far failed to provide any evidence.
