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Telegram's Durov allowed to leave France amid probe, AFP reports
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Pavel Durov, Telegram's CEO, is allowed to leave France temporarily amid a criminal investigation into activities on the messaging app.
PARIS (Reuters) - French authorities have allowed Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of Telegram, to leave France temporarily in a loosening of his obligations under a probe into criminal activities on the messaging app, the French news agency AFP reported on Saturday.
Durov was arrested at an airport near Paris last August and subsequently placed under formal investigation, with a ban on leaving France.
The probe further soured relations between Paris and Moscow amid the war in Ukraine and fanned debate over the boundaries of free speech and law enforcement on internet platforms.
An investigating judge gave Durov permission to leave France for several weeks and he is thought to have departed on Saturday morning for Dubai, AFP said, citing unnamed sources.
The Paris prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
French prosecutors said last year they suspect Durov of complicity in running an online platform that allows a range of illegal activities including drug trafficking and money laundering.
Durov was also required to post bail of 5 million euros ($5.4 million).
Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial, but indicates judges consider there is enough evidence to proceed with the probe.
($1 = 0.9192 euros)
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Tangi Salaun; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
The article discusses Pavel Durov's temporary departure from France amid a criminal investigation into Telegram.
French authorities suspect Durov of complicity in illegal activities on Telegram, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
Pavel Durov is believed to have traveled to Dubai after receiving permission to leave France.
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