French charges and new investigation against Telegram boss Duro

After three good days, Telegram boss Pavel Duro was released from custody in Paris. He had to pay five million euros for bail, he is not allowed to leave France and he has to report regularly to the police. Duro is, among other things, a French citizen. Apparently there are two investigations going on against him in the country: one due to the allegations against him as CEO of the messaging app Telegram, the other due to suspicions of serious child abuse. Duro has been presumed innocent in both proceedings; his lawyer has denied all the charges.

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According to French media reports, the Office Minors, a special department of the French national police, is investigating whether Durov committed serious violence against his youngest son in Paris. The child was born in 2017 and lives with his mother in Switzerland. He is said to have filed a complaint against his father with Swiss authorities last year.

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Other French investigators are investigating twelve points in connection with Telegram. This was announced by the responsible court, the Tribunal de Paris. Three possible violations relate to French encryption law, six are said to be involvement in various crimes that were committed with the help of Telegram, and finally the billionaire could directly violate three more sanctions.

The latter are

• forming a criminal organization with the intent to commit a crime punishable by at least five years in prison;
• money laundering for a criminal gang (organized crime);
• Refusal to disclose information necessary for lawful interception despite official orders.

Six possible aiding and abetting offences are mentioned:

• managing an online platform to enable gang-related, illicit transactions;
• possession of depictions of minors with a pedophilic character;
• Distribute, offer or make available in a gang-like manner depictions of minors of a pornographic nature;
• purchasing, transporting, possessing, offering, or transferring narcotics;
• Offering, transferring or making available any item, program or data adapted to attack or access a computer system without any lawful reason;
• Gang fraud.

Although encryption software can be freely used in France, its availability, import, export and even distribution within the EU must be reported in advance. If these are encryption products that can be used for both civilian and military purposes (dual use), official approval must be obtained in advance. The Telegram app supports end-to-end encryption, although users must explicitly enable it for each conversation. The suspicion appears to be that Telegram did not obtain the necessary endorsement or approval from French authorities before launching the app in France.

Politico reportsFrance is also looking for Nikolai Durov, the brother of Telegram’s other founder Pavel Durov. The two arrest warrants are dated March 25. The reason for their display is said to be the refusal of Telegram management to support a police investigation into child sexual abuse. There may also be an arrest warrant for Telegram vice president Ilya Perekopskij. There are no allegations of direct involvement of the mentioned persons in such crimes. Pavel Durov’s lawyer has stressed that Telegram complies with all European laws.

(DS)