The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, presented a request for the first time in the Paris court: Report
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been questioned in a Paris court for the first time in a legal case in which he is accused of facilitating criminal activity with the messenger app.
Durov appeared in a Paris court on December 6 at 10 am CET, accompanied by his lawyers David-Olivier Kaminski and Christophe Ingrain.
An anonymous source familiar with the matter told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the inquiry was related to allegations that Telegram could be used for illegal transactions.
Asked about the legal process, Durov told AFP he had “confidence in the French justice system” but declined to comment on the case.
The Telegram founder's legal issues began on August 24, when he was temporarily detained at Le Bourget Airport in Paris.
After posting $6 million bail, he was barred from leaving France until March 2025. French prosecutors accused Durov of permitting illegal activities, referring to the first indictment announced on August 28.
Industry insiders worry that the lawsuit against Durov poses a serious threat to the privacy protections of Web3 technologies.
Related: Pavel Durov breaks his silence for the first time since his arrest
The legal case against Durov: what you need to know
The Paris prosecutor's office, the Parquet de Paris, announced initial charges on August 28 against Durov, who accused the Telegram founder of facilitating a platform for illegal transactions. If convicted, Durov could face up to 10 years in prison and a 500,000 euro ($550,000) fine.
According to the prosecutor's office, France launched a preliminary investigation into Telegram in February 2024, which escalated to a court investigation on July 8 — a month before Durov was arrested in Paris.
In other news, Durov's phone was reportedly hacked a year before his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, anonymous sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
Emmanuel Macron denied inviting Durov to French shorts. Source: YouTube
Industry insiders have previously expressed concern that Durov's arrest has serious implications for the cryptocurrency space.
RELATED: Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Arrested – What We Know So Far
Durov's arrest has raised concerns about Web3's privacy
According to Vayara Savova, senior policy leader at the European Crypto Initiative, the case draws parallels with the arrest of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Persev.
Savova told Cointelegraph:
“Some parallels can be drawn with Perceive imprisonment and fines, for example these are measures of individual Member States which do not represent a system proposed by the EU or the executive body the European Commission.”
According to Nikolai Denisenko, the founder and chief technology officer of the financial app, the arrest may indicate a serious attack on developers of privacy protection technologies.
“Obviously, this raises concerns about potential government reach and broader implications for digital privacy.”
Percev's pre-trial detention pending legal proceedings was prolonged, preventing it from preparing an appeal, Cointelegraph reported on November 23.
However, in a landmark legal victory on Nov. 26, three judges of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in approving Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts — overturning a lower court decision and granting partial summary judgment to platform users.
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Magazine: Did Telegram's Pavel Durov commit a crime? Crypto advocates weigh in.
