Telegram boss Durov charged, banned from leaving France

The Star

France on Wednesday (Aug 28) charged Pavel Durov, the founder and chief of Telegram, with a litany of violations related to the messaging app and banned him from leaving the country while allowing the billionaire to walk free after four days under arrest.   Read more at https://tinyurl.com/mrxjfcd6   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news  SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar  LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00France, on Wednesday, charged Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, with multiple

00:06violations related to the messaging app.

00:09The 39-year-old billionaire, who was detained for four days, has been banned from leaving

00:14the country but was allowed to walk free after his arrest.

00:18Durov faced several charges, including failing to curb extremist and illegal content on Telegram,

00:25following a hearing with investigating magistrates in Paris.

00:28He was arrested late Saturday at Le Bourget Airport near Paris and subsequently questioned

00:34by investigators.

00:35Paris prosecutor Laure Becquot announced that Durov was granted conditional release with

00:40a bail set at 5 million euros, or approximately 24 million ringgit.

00:45As part of the conditions, he must report to a police station twice a week and remain

00:50in France.

00:51The charges against Durov involve alleged crimes committed by an organized group, including

00:56complicity in managing an online platform to facilitate illicit transactions.

01:02He has also been charged with refusing to provide documents requested by authorities,

01:06and with dissemination of child pornography images by an organized group, as well as drug

01:12trafficking, fraud, and money laundering.

01:15Durov's lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminsky, dismissed the charges as absurd, asserting

01:21that Durov cannot be held responsible for crimes committed on the app, and stating that

01:26Telegram fully complies with European digital technology regulations.

01:30Separately, a source said Durov is also being investigated on suspicion of serious acts

01:36of violence towards one of his children, while he and an ex-partner, the boy's mother, were

01:41in Paris.

01:42She also filed another complaint against Durov in Switzerland last year.

01:55For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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