Getty Images | tSteve Jennings
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was indicted in France today and ordered to post bail of 5 million euros. The multi-billionaire was forbidden from leaving the country and must report to police twice a week while the case continues.
Charges were detailed in a statement issued today by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, which was provided to Ars. They are nearly identical to the possible charges released by Beccuau on Monday.
The first charge listed is complicity in “web-mastering an online platform in order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group.” Today’s press release said this charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a 500,000-euro fine.
Telegram’s alleged refusal to cooperate with law enforcement on criminal investigations resulted in a charge of “refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law.”
Beccuau said there was a near-total lack of response from Telegram to requests for cooperation in cases related to crimes against minors, drug crimes, and online hate. This led authorities “to open an investigation into the possible criminal responsibility of the messaging app’s executives in the commission of these offenses,” Beccuau said, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Durov was further charged with complicity in drug trafficking and distribution of child pornography.
Cryptology-related charges
He was also charged with providing cryptology services without making required declarations to government officials. Under French law, providers of cryptology must make declarations to ANSSI, the country’s cybersecurity agency. French authorities may request that companies provide “the technical characteristics and the source code of the means of cryptology which was the subject of the declaration.”
The charges against Durov include “providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration,” “providing a cryptology tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration,” and “importing a cryptology tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.”
Telegram offers a mix of private messaging and social network features. Telegram messages do not have end-to-end encryption by default, but the security feature can be enabled for one-on-one conversations.
In response to Durov’s arrest, Telegram said on Sunday that it follows the law and industry standards on moderation and called it “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
French authorities also reportedly issued a warrant for the arrest of Durov’s brother and fellow Telegram co-founder, Nikolai.