Getty Images | Steve Jennings
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was charged in France today and sentenced to a €5 million bail. The multi-billionaire has been banned from leaving the country and must report to police twice a week while the case is ongoing.
The charges were detailed in a statement released today by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, which was seen by Ars. They are almost identical to the possible charges announced by Beccuau on Monday.
The first charge is complicity in the “webmastering of an online platform to facilitate an illegal transaction in an organized group.” Today's press release states that this charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros.
Due to Telegram's alleged refusal to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in criminal investigations, the company was accused of “refusing to disclose, upon request from competent authorities, information or documents necessary for the conduct and processing of legally permissible wiretapping activities.”
Beccuau said Telegram had been almost completely unresponsive to requests for cooperation in cases related to crimes against minors, drug offenses and online hate. This prompted authorities to “open an investigation into the possible criminal responsibility of those responsible for the messaging app in committing these crimes,” Beccuau said, according to Bloomberg.
Durov was also charged with aiding and abetting drug trafficking and distributing child pornography.
Cryptology-related fees
He was also accused of providing cryptology services without making the required declarations to government officials. French law requires cryptology providers to make declarations to the ANSSI, the national cybersecurity agency. French authorities can require companies to provide “the technical characteristics and source code of the cryptology means that were the subject of the declaration.”
The charges against Durov include “providing cryptology services with the aim of maintaining confidentiality without a certified declaration,” “providing a cryptology tool that does not exclusively ensure authentication or integrity monitoring without a prior declaration,” and “importing a cryptology tool that ensures authentication or integrity monitoring without a 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 adheres to laws and industry standards when moderating and called it “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”
French authorities also reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov's brother and Telegram co-founder Nikolai.