On August 24, The Day of Knowledge, Pavel Durov, the founder and the chairman of Telegram was arrested in Paris. The French authorities have not said anything publicly they still stick to the concept of investigations being private in the French system of justice.
.jpeg "Paris court explains the reason for the arrest of Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram")
Telegram’s Founder Arrested: Unraveling the Mystery Behind Pavel Durov’s Detention
The newspaper reported that the arrest is connected to the problems of managing the platforms and the failure of the company to cooperate with the police, according to the French TV network TF1. These are drug trafficking, money laundering and possession of child sexually abusive material or CSA.
The Paris criminal court that was dealing with the case never anticipated media outrage and interest in the matter surrounding Durov’s arrest. X Some well-known personalities stood up for Pavel, Elon Musk has retweeted the hashtag #FreePavel, while Edward Snowden mentioned that there could be some political background of Pavel’s arrest.
Durov’s arrest is a rather important event for both Russian authorities and the opposition as Telegram is widely popular in Russia and Ukraine. It has, therefore, generated a lot of concern in both the countries.
We have come across information that the Paris court has issued a press release which reveals the charges against Durov. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office began the initial investigation on July 8 in cybercrime related matters.
There are twelve charges based on an unknown person which means that the person who is in charge of Telegram at the moment. The charges include those which relate to oversight and compliance matters.
Telegram’s Troubles: Durov Faces Multiple Charges from CSAM to Crypto Fraud
Durov himself is in deep trouble regarding the modus operandi of Telegram concerning distribution and storage of the CSAM. These charges imply that the platform could have hosted the illicit content thus raising eyebrows over the moderators of the platform.
Still, another serious reliance for accusing Durov is Telegram’s non-compliance with requests from the law enforcement bodies. Here the court declared that Telegram has been unresponsive to official request regarding information which may interfere with investigations into unlawful conduct.
This also evaluates the encryption features on Telegram which the court also focuses on. Durov, is accused of using encryption techniques that have not received clearance from the French government, thus raising question and suspicion to the legitimacy and openness of Telegram’s security features.
For these reasons, besides and these accusations Durov has some other accusations referring to setting up a criminal organization. This charge, together with accusations of money laundering, means that Telegram could be linked to other crimes.
The connections between CSAM, drug trafficking, and fraud with Telegram’s inattention is one of the biggest problems. The message sent by Durov about the fact that Telegram has a very little number of engineers also gives the idea that the platform is quite limited in addressing such severe allegations.
This is especially because Telegram has recently unveiled its digital currency called “Stars” that it has incorporated with another digital currency, Toncoin. As Toncoins can be exchanged for other currencies and assets on various platforms and easily converted into bank accounts, the issue of financial transparency, and legislation arise.
Telegram's KYC Controversy: Durov's Arrest Sparks Judicial Scrutiny Amid Crypto Compliance Questions
Police are also trying to determine whether Telegram has violated “Know Your Customer” (KYC) rules regarding cryptocurrencies. This has led this inquiry to ask whether the platform was involved in money laundering this through lack of proper customer identification measures.
As stated by Public Prosecutor Laure Picqueux with reference to the arrest of Pavel Durov, this person’s detainment is not caused by any specific laws governing technology in the EU, such as DSA. Nevertheless, it is not a direct violation of online governance rules in the EU but a kind of legal follow-up in connection with other legal problems.
French President Emmanuel Macron later defended the arrest through a post on X stating that it was due to ongoing judicial investigation on Durov. Macron focused on the fact that it was not a political decision and ensured the populace of political neutrality of the legal system in regard to the situation.
From Macron’s comment, the focus was placed on the fact that it is the court that will decide on the further action. The court will ultimately determine whether the allegations are correct, and whether there is basis enough to press charges against Durov.
There is also whether Durov should remain in custody during investigation which the court must look at when making its decision. Based on his experience, he possess several passports and own a jet, a lot of flight risk are considered.
The conclusion of the investigation will depend with the court ivaluation of all the evidence tendered. This decision is bound to lay down the markers on how online platforms will be made to answer for their cryptocurrency machinations.
