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Telegram CEO charged in French criminal investigation

Photo illustration of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with the Telegram logo.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

A French investigative judge has charged Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with enabling illegal transactions among other alleged offenses, according to reports from NBC News and Le Monde. Durov had been arrested Saturday as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse material and other criminal activity on Telegram.

French prosecutors will release Durov under judicial supervision on a €5 million bail, but he won’t be allowed to leave France. As noted by Le Monde, Durov also faces charges of refusing to comply with authorities and complicity in the criminal distribution of CSAM.

Durov was arrested as he deplaned in Paris on a warrant issued by France’s OFMIN agency that’s tasked with preventing violence against minors. An agency official…

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