Telegram CEO’s lawyer calls Durov investigation ‘absurd’

A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov, who is being investigated in France, said it was “completely absurd” to suggest that the head of a social network is responsible for any criminal acts committed on the platform, French media reported.

A French judge placed Duroff under formal investigation on Wednesday, saying he was suspected of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illegal transactions, child sexual abuse images and drug trafficking. He is also being investigated for money laundering and refusing to cooperate with judicial authorities.

Durov, who spent four days in custody after his arrest on Saturday at an airport near Paris, was granted bail on the condition that he pay 5 million euros ($5.6 million), report twice a week to police and will not leave French territory.

His arrest has sparked debate about where free speech ends and law enforcement begins, and to what extent tech companies should be held responsible for social media content. Telegram is used by almost a billion people.

“It is completely absurd to believe that the head of a social network could be involved in criminal acts that do not concern him, either directly or indirectly,” lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski, who represents Durov in France, said in comments to reporters . by many local media.

“Telegram fully complies with European digital rules,” he was quoted as saying.

Being under official investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to a trial, but it does show that judges believe there is enough evidence to proceed with an investigation. Investigations can drag on for years before being sent to trial or shelved.

Kaminsky did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is known as an avid Telegram user, said earlier this week that Durov’s arrest was “in no way a political decision” and that the investigation had been decided by judicial authorities, not the government .

Macron had lunch with Durov in 2018 as part of a series of meetings with tech entrepreneurs, a source close to the president said, and Durov was granted French citizenship in 2021 in a rare process for high-profile individuals.