Spring saw France issuing arrest warrants for Durov, reports say – media
According to Politico, France had issued arrest warrants for Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolay several months earlier than was previously reported. Read the full article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Court documents contradict earlier claims that the investigation into Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolay was initiated in July, according to a report from Politico.
France issued arrest warrants for Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolay, who co-founded the messaging app, back in March—much earlier than previously stated by officials, Politico reported on Wednesday.
Durov was arrested last Saturday in an unexpected development, a move that French President Emmanuel Macron has asserted was not politically motivated. Durov holds citizenship in several countries, including France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, and is facing allegations of complicity in serious crimes purportedly facilitated by Telegram, as well as failure to assist French authorities in their investigations.
The arrest warrants were issued on March 25 after Telegram reportedly provided “no answer” to a judicial request made by French investigators, as highlighted in documents leaked to Politico by an insider. This initial inquiry sought the identity of one of the app’s users. The documents pointed out “Telegram’s almost non-existent cooperation” with authorities in various other cases.
Macron had suggested that Durov consider moving Telegram’s headquarters to Paris, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
This new information disputes the assertions made by French officials, who had previously claimed the inquiry against Telegram began in July. The warrants were requested by the cybercrime branch of the Paris prosecutor’s office as part of a broader investigation into a child pornography case, although authorities did not accuse either Durov or Nikolay of being directly involved in any criminal activities.
French law enforcement has a limited time frame to charge Durov with a crime; otherwise, they will have to release him from custody later on Wednesday.
Critics have condemned the arrest as a direct assault on freedom of speech and the right to private communication, calling out the French government for its actions. Durov has previously expressed his commitment to these values through his encryption-focused platform.
After facing accusations in Russia in 2014 of enabling terrorism suspects to avoid scrutiny by withholding access to their communications, Durov fled the country. He contended that his app was developed to prevent such surveillance. Since then, Telegram and the Russian government have found a degree of reconciliation.
While Pavel Durov represents Telegram publicly, Nikolay is reputed to be the driving force behind the development of the app and other products. He previously served as the lead designer of the social network VK and is believed to have been the architect of TON, a blockchain network that Telegram sought to utilize for cryptocurrency payments. However, the project was abandoned in 2020 due to pushback from U.S. authorities.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
France issued arrest warrants for Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolay, who co-founded the messaging app, back in March—much earlier than previously stated by officials, Politico reported on Wednesday.
Durov was arrested last Saturday in an unexpected development, a move that French President Emmanuel Macron has asserted was not politically motivated. Durov holds citizenship in several countries, including France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, and is facing allegations of complicity in serious crimes purportedly facilitated by Telegram, as well as failure to assist French authorities in their investigations.
The arrest warrants were issued on March 25 after Telegram reportedly provided “no answer” to a judicial request made by French investigators, as highlighted in documents leaked to Politico by an insider. This initial inquiry sought the identity of one of the app’s users. The documents pointed out “Telegram’s almost non-existent cooperation” with authorities in various other cases.
Macron had suggested that Durov consider moving Telegram’s headquarters to Paris, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
This new information disputes the assertions made by French officials, who had previously claimed the inquiry against Telegram began in July. The warrants were requested by the cybercrime branch of the Paris prosecutor’s office as part of a broader investigation into a child pornography case, although authorities did not accuse either Durov or Nikolay of being directly involved in any criminal activities.
French law enforcement has a limited time frame to charge Durov with a crime; otherwise, they will have to release him from custody later on Wednesday.
Critics have condemned the arrest as a direct assault on freedom of speech and the right to private communication, calling out the French government for its actions. Durov has previously expressed his commitment to these values through his encryption-focused platform.
After facing accusations in Russia in 2014 of enabling terrorism suspects to avoid scrutiny by withholding access to their communications, Durov fled the country. He contended that his app was developed to prevent such surveillance. Since then, Telegram and the Russian government have found a degree of reconciliation.
While Pavel Durov represents Telegram publicly, Nikolay is reputed to be the driving force behind the development of the app and other products. He previously served as the lead designer of the social network VK and is believed to have been the architect of TON, a blockchain network that Telegram sought to utilize for cryptocurrency payments. However, the project was abandoned in 2020 due to pushback from U.S. authorities.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
