Kateryna Chornovol23:44, 24.08.24

Durov should be charged with several serious crimes at once. Telegram founder Pavel Durov detained in Paris, faces 20 years in prison, – media

Kateryna Chornovol23:44, 24.08.24

4 min.14745

Durov should be charged with several serious crimes at once.

French intelligence services have detained the founder and CEO of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov. This was reported by the TF1 TV channel .

Durov was arrested at around 8:00 p.m. on Saturday evening when he stepped off his private jet onto the runway at Le Bourget Airport. The arrest was carried out by GTA gendarmes.

It is known that he was registered in the FPR (Fast Persons Register) and had just arrived from Azerbaijan.Video of the day

The warrant was issued because Durov failed to cooperate with French law enforcement, which allegedly makes him an accomplice to drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Notably, it was valid if and only if Pavel Durov was on French territory.

“He made a mistake this evening. We don’t know why…”, a source close to the investigation told TF1-LCI.

Since Pavel Durov knew that he was persona non grata in France, he had a habit of traveling to the Emirates, former USSR countries, South America, etc. At the same time, he traveled very little in Europe and avoided countries where Telegram was under close surveillance.

Investigators from ONAF (the National Office for Combating Fraud at the Customs Department) notified him of suspicion and took him into custody. Durov is now due to appear before an investigating judge to face possible charges on Sunday for a range of crimes: complicity in terrorism, drugs, fraud, money laundering, paedo-criminal content, etc.

“Pavel Durov will definitely end up in jail. On his platform, he allowed countless offenses and crimes to be committed, and he did nothing to stop them,” said a source close to the case.

There is no doubt that Durov will be kept in custody after the charges are brought. The billionaire has significant funds for an escape, and his guarantees of protection are unlikely to convince the judges.

Updated : According to TF1, Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces 20 years in prison in France. He will soon appear in court as a French citizen. Durov’s properties in France are currently being searched.

In addition, French intelligence services will seek access to correspondence related to criminal organizations and sanctioned companies and individuals.

“Telegram is a hive of criminal content. The platform is currently in the spotlight for illegally streaming matches, but many accounts on the service are used by organized crime. In addition to terrorism, the most dangerous criminals use Telegram to exchange child pornography content,” one of the investigators said.

Pavel Durov: the story of French citizenship

According to French media, Durov received French citizenship in 2021 as a result of what Le Monde called “an exceptional and highly political procedure.” The naturalization procedure in France usually occurs if a person has roots or relatives in the country, or comes from a Francophone country. However, Durov did not meet any of the criteria.

In these circumstances, there was only one procedure by which Durov could have obtained naturalization: the so-called “outstanding foreigner” procedure, a very rare and cautious practice that grants French citizenship on the initiative of the government to a foreigner who, through his outstanding activity, contributes to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations. Vincent Tschen, a professor of public law at the University of Rouen, noted that the application of this rule is very rare.

Six months earlier, Pavel Durov had already received a new passport in the United Arab Emirates, taking advantage of a new opportunity for wealthy foreign investors in a country that almost never grants naturalization. Since 2017, he has lived in Dubai, where Telegram is also headquartered.

French intelligence services have detained the founder and CEO of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov . This was reported by the TF1 TV channel .

Durov was arrested at around 8:00 p.m. on Saturday evening when he stepped off his private jet onto the runway at Le Bourget Airport. The arrest was carried out by GTA gendarmes.

It is known that he was registered in the FPR (Fast Persons Register) and had just arrived from Azerbaijan.Video of the day

The warrant was issued because Durov failed to cooperate with French law enforcement, which allegedly makes him an accomplice to drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Notably, it was valid if and only if Pavel Durov was on French territory.

“He made a mistake this evening. We don’t know why…”, a source close to the investigation told TF1-LCI.

Since Pavel Durov knew that he was persona non grata in France, he had a habit of traveling to the Emirates, former USSR countries, South America, etc. At the same time, he traveled very little in Europe and avoided countries where Telegram was under close surveillance.

Investigators from ONAF (the National Office for Combating Fraud at the Customs Department) notified him of suspicion and took him into custody. Durov is now due to appear before an investigating judge to face possible charges on Sunday for a range of crimes: complicity in terrorism, drugs, fraud, money laundering, paedo-criminal content, etc.

“Pavel Durov will definitely end up in jail. On his platform, he allowed countless offenses and crimes to be committed, and he did nothing to stop them,” said a source close to the case.

There is no doubt that Durov will be kept in custody after the charges are brought. The billionaire has significant funds for an escape, and his guarantees of protection are unlikely to convince the judges.

Updated : According to TF1, Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces 20 years in prison in France. He will soon appear in court as a French citizen. Durov’s properties in France are currently being searched.

In addition, French intelligence services will seek access to correspondence related to criminal organizations and sanctioned companies and individuals.

“Telegram is a hive of criminal content. The platform is currently in the spotlight for illegally streaming matches, but many accounts on the service are used by organized crime. In addition to terrorism, the most dangerous criminals use Telegram to exchange child pornography content,” one of the investigators said.

Pavel Durov: the story of French citizenship

According to French media, Durov received French citizenship in 2021 as a result of what Le Monde called “an exceptional and highly political procedure.” The naturalization procedure in France usually occurs if a person has roots or relatives in the country, or comes from a Francophone country. However, Durov did not meet any of the criteria.

In these circumstances, there was only one procedure by which Durov could have obtained naturalization: the so-called “outstanding foreigner” procedure, a very rare and cautious practice that grants French citizenship on the initiative of the government to a foreigner who, through his outstanding activity, contributes to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations. Vincent Tschen, a professor of public law at the University of Rouen, noted that the application of this rule is very rare.

Six months earlier, Pavel Durov had already received a new passport in the United Arab Emirates, taking advantage of a new opportunity for wealthy foreign investors in a country that almost never grants naturalization. Since 2017, he has lived in Dubai, where Telegram is also headquartered.

(c)UNIAN 2024