Telegram chief charged for allowing 'criminal activities' on popular messaging app

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been banned from leaving France as authorities put him under official investigation as part of a probe into criminal activity on his messaging app.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Mr Durov, 39, was released on bail yesterday after four days of questioning following his arrest at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday.

The Telegram chief executive was released under judicial supervision on the condition that he paid a €5m deposit, reports twice a week to the police and does not leave the country.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement the judge found there were grounds to formally investigate Mr Durov on all the charges for which he was initially arrested four days ago.

They include suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as the refusal to communicate information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals.

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. Investigations can last years before being sent to trial or shelved.