Founder of the messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, has flown to Dubai from France with permission from a French court, according to a report by Barron’s.
“He departed France this morning,” an unnamed source familiar with the case told AFP.
A second source told AFP that an investigating judge granted Durov’s request to leave France for “several weeks.”
Durov’s legal trouble began last year
Durov was abruptly arrested by French authorities at the Le Bourget airport in Paris on Aug. 24. Following his arrest, Durov was slapped with a litany of charges on Aug. 26, including complicity in child exploitation, drug trafficking, and other organized criminal activities.
The French authorities alleged that through its lack of content moderation, Telegram, and thereby Durov, facilitated illicit activities, including distribution of child pornography and drug trafficking. The authorities claimed that Durov could face up to 10 years in prison along with a fine of €500,000 ($550,000).
Durov’s arrest was condemned by the Telegram community in an open letter, calling it “a blatant attack on the freedom of expression and the right to private life.” Whistleblower Edward Snowden and tech billionaire Elon Musk also decried Durov’s arrest as an attack on free speech.
Modification of bail conditions received approval
On Aug. 28, Durov was released from police custody and placed under judicial supervision after he posted a €5 million ($6 million) bail. Durov’s release was contingent on a number of conditions, one of which required him to remain in France.
However, according to the Barron’s report, the investigating judge accepted Durov’s request to modify the conditions of his bail on March 13, allowing him to leave the country.
While the exact terms of the court’s decision remain unclear, Durov’s departure to Dubai—a city known for its lack of extradition agreements with several countries—has raised concerns about jurisdiction and privacy.
Durov is not only a French citizen, but also holds citizenship in Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
A few weeks after his release, Durov wrote in a Telegram post:
“Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools.”
Things are looking up for Russian programmers
The news of Durov’s departure to Dubai is yet to be officially confirmed by Telegram or Durov himself. However, if confirmed, Durov would be the second Russian programmer to be released.
Just last month, Alexander Vinnik, operator of the now-defunct crypto exchange BTC-e, was released by the U.S. and sent to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange program. The prisoner swap program was one of the efforts to mend political and diplomatic ties between the two countries.
It is worth noting, however, that Telegram was banned in Russia in 2018 after the app refused to hand over encryption keys required to read users’ communications.
TON Foundation welcomes the news of Durov’s travel
The crypto market has reacted positively to the news of Durov’s travel to Dubai. The price of The Open Network (TON) is up 20% over the past 24 hours, according to CryptoSlate data.
The TON Foundation has also welcomed the news, calling it a “significant moment of resolution” in a statement released on X. The statement noted:
“As part of the decentralized TON community, we have stood in solidarity with Pavel, supporting his unwavering dedication to defending the right to free speech and privacy online.”
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