In France, an arrest warrant was issued for the Telegram CEO Pavel Durovʼs brother Mykola, who is a co-founder of the messenger.
This is written by Politico, which got acquainted with the French administrative document.
It says that the French investigation into Telegram began several months ago. This concerns Telegramʼs refusal to cooperate with French police investigations into child sexual abuse cases.
Warrants were issued for Pavel and Mykola Durov on March 25 on charges including "participating in the possession, distribution, offering or provision of pornographic images of minors as part of an organized group."
The document provides an argument that explains the warrants for the arrest of the Durov brothers — the platform is used by "numerous criminal groups." However, there is no evidence that any of the brothers were directly involved in any crimes.
It is unknown where Mykola Durov is now.
The Durov case
On the night of August 25, French media reported the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov at the Paris airport after he flew there from Azerbaijan on a private plane. In France, Durov was declared wanted only a few minutes before his arrival. He received the citizenship of this country in 2021. However, recently he lived mainly in the United Arab Emirates.
Telegram published a statement about the detention of its founder Pavel Durov. It claims that the messenger complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and Durov himself has "nothing to hide."
On August 26, the French prosecutorʼs office officially confirmed the detention of Pavel Durov. He is suspected of 12 crimes.