Telegram CEO Pavel Durov finally returns to Dubai after France eases restrictions

Pavel Durov is back in Dubai, ending months of legal confinement in France after authorities temporarily lifted his travel restrictions.

The Telegram CEO, who has been facing criminal charges over illegal activity on his messaging platform, was permitted to leave between March 15 and April 7. He announced his return in a Telegram post, telling his 950 million users that the legal process is still ongoing, but he is relieved to be home.

“As you may have heard, I’ve returned to Dubai after spending several months in France due to an investigation related to the activity of criminals on Telegram,” Pavel said. “The process is ongoing, but it feels great to be home. I want to thank the investigative judges for letting this happen, as well as my lawyers and team for their relentless efforts in demonstrating that, when it comes to moderation, cooperation, and fighting crime, for years, Telegram not only met but exceeded its legal obligations.”

France lifts travel restrictions amid ongoing investigation

Pavel, a United Arab Emirates citizen, has been under judicial supervision since his arrest on August 24, 2024, in Paris. He was required to report twice a week to the police, post a €5 million bail, and remain in France until further notice. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that his judicial order was suspended for a few weeks by investigative judges, allowing him to leave the country.

Pavel was charged in August with complicity in the administration of an online platform enabling illicit transactions in an organized gang. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a €500,000 fine if found guilty. French prosecutors allege that Telegram was used for criminal transactions and the distribution of sexually explicit images of children. Pavel has denied all allegations, calling France’s legal actions misguided.

“If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself,” Pavel said. “Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.”

He added that no one would want to build new technology if they knew they could be held personally responsible for potential abuse of their tools.

Pavel defends Telegram’s cooperation with law enforcement

Pavel has pushed back against claims that Telegram does not cooperate with law enforcement. He revealed that he was interrogated for four days in August after arriving in Paris from Baku, Azerbaijan. Authorities claimed that he was personally responsible for criminal activity on Telegram because French investigators did not receive responses from the company.

“I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram because the French authorities didn’t receive responses from Telegram,” Pavel said. He called this surprising, saying that Telegram has an official representative in the EU that handles government requests.

He also pointed out that Telegram had already established a hotline with French authorities to combat terrorism-related threats. He noted that he was a frequent guest at the French consulate in Dubai, which made the charges against him even more unexpected.

The investigation has not been without political speculation. Before his arrest in France, rumors spread that Pavel was in Azerbaijan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Kremlin denied that any such meeting ever took place.

Telegram fights growing concerns over criminal activity

The legal battle in France has renewed global concerns over Telegram’s moderation policies. Governments have accused the platform of being a safe haven for fraudsters, drug traffickers, and terrorists. Telegram’s privacy-first model has made it especially popular in countries with strict internet censorship.

Critics argue that Telegram lacks sufficient content moderation, but Pavel insists that his platform follows industry standards and is constantly improving.

“Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country. We’ve done it many times,” Pavel said.

He pointed to Russia and Iran, where Telegram refused to compromise user privacy by handing over encryption keys to government agencies. As a result, the app was banned in both countries.

“All of that does not mean Telegram is perfect. Even the fact that authorities could be confused about where to send requests is something that we should improve. But the claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue,” Pavel said.

He added that Telegram removes millions of harmful posts and channels daily and has direct hotlines with NGOs to process urgent moderation requests faster.

Pavel acknowledged that Telegram’s explosive growth has created challenges for its moderation efforts. The platform, which now has 950 million users, has faced growing pains that have made it easier for criminals to exploit the service.

“That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard,” Pavel said. “We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress soon.”

Despite the legal battle, Pavel remains optimistic about Telegram’s future. He ended his statement by thanking his supporters, saying, “Thanks again for your love and memes.”

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