Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Social Messaging App Telegram, is permitted to return to Dubai as French authorities continue to carry out unprecedented lawsuits against him.
The tech billionaire was arrested in August after being accused of not properly mitigating the app to reduce crime.
Durov denied that he has not cooperated with law enforcement on drug trafficking, child sexual abuse and fraud. Telegram has previously refused to be inadequate moderation.
This is the first time a tech leader has been arrested for a crime committed on the platform.
In a post on the Telegram channel, Durov said:
The 40-year-old was arrested for arriving in Paris on a private jet in August 2024, and a French judge initially refused to allow him to leave France.
However, the Paris prosecutor’s office told the BBC on Monday that the “duty of judicial supervision” was suspended between March 15th and April 7th.
No further details have been given as to the terms of his release from France.
Durov is a resident of Dubai, born in Russia, where he holds citizenship, as well as France, the United Arab Emirates and the country of St. Kitz and Nevis, a Caribbean island.
Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine, former Soviet states and Iran.
Used by around 950 million people worldwide, Telegram has established itself as an app that focuses on user privacy rather than the usual policies previously prioritized by other global social media companies.
However, reports from the BBC and other news organizations have highlighted the use of apps to promote drugs, provide cybercrime and fraud services, and, more recently, provide child sexual abuse material.
One expert has now branded the “dark web in your pocket.”
The company previously said his arrest was unfair and he said that users should not be held responsible for what they do on the platform.
From his home in Dubai, Dolov thanked a French judge for letting him go home.
He also thanked his lawyers for “a merciless effort to demonstrate that, for years, telegrams have not only met but exceeded their legal obligations when it comes to moderation, cooperation and combat crimes.”
However, since his arrest, Telegram has made a series of changes to how it works.
I participated in the Internet Watch Foundation program. It is intended to help you find, delete and report child sexual abuse material shared online.
It also announced that the IP address and telephone number of the person violating the rules will be handed over to the police upon valid legal requests.
We also publish a transparency report on how much content will be deleted.
