JUST IN: Telegram’s Pavel Durov Charged With 12 Criminal Counts

Following his arrest in France, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has just been charged with 12 criminal counts.

The charges include six counts of “complicity” and “providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration.”

Take a look at the press release:

JUST IN – Telegram's Pavel Durov charged on 12 criminal counts. pic.twitter.com/ncy12byjji

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 26, 2024

12 charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov include "providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration" and six counts of "complicity" with alleged criminal activity by Telegram users

FR & EN https://t.co/sDvjUiZJvT pic.twitter.com/j8sCP1uPep

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 26, 2024

The Insider has more information on the charges Pavel is facing:

The investigation that led to the recent detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov this past Saturday was originally opened on July 8, 2024 against an “unnamed person.” It involved suspicion on 12 counts, including refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, complicity in drug distribution, child pornography, cybercrime, and fraud, according to a statement from the French public prosecutor’s office released earlier today.

“Pavel Durov, founder and director of the Telegram instant messaging platform, was arrested and placed in police custody at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2024 at Le Bourget [airport]. This measure was taken as part of a judicial investigation opened on July 8, 2024, following a preliminary investigation initiated by the J3 section (JUNALCO — National Jurisdiction for Combating Organized Crime) of the Paris public prosecutor’s office,” the statement read.

The charges against the “unnamed person” in the case include:

• Complicity in administering an online platform to facilitate illegal transactions within an organized group.
• Refusal to provide information or documents necessary for lawful interceptions at the request of competent authorities.
• Complicity in the possession of pornographic images of minors.
• Complicity in distributing, offering, or providing pornographic images of minors within an organized group.
• Complicity in the purchase, transportation, possession, offer, or sale of narcotic substances.
• Complicity in offering, selling, or providing, without lawful justification, equipment, tools, programs, or data designed to gain unauthorized access to and impair the operation of automated data processing systems.
• Complicity in organized group fraud.
• Criminal conspiracy to commit a crime or offense punishable by five or more years of imprisonment.
• Laundering proceeds from crimes or offenses committed by an organized group.
• Providing cryptographic services for privacy without a certified statement.
• Providing a cryptographic tool that does not exclusively offer authentication or integrity control without a prior declaration.
• Importing a cryptographic tool that provides authentication or integrity control without a prior declaration.

Durov notably holds multiple passports. He is a citizen of France, the United Arab Emirates, and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The independent Russian publication Agentstvo.Novosti, citing data from Russian government services portal Gosuslugi, reported on Sunday that Durov still holds a valid Russian passport.

Cryptopolitan added:

The French authorities presented the charges against Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram. Durov is charged with complicity in multiple criminal activities, as well as failing to provide cryptographic access in accordance with authority demands. 

The case against Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, hinges on complicity in several types of crimes, which are considered to be happening through Telegram. The initial charge is providing a platform that creates conditions for illicit transactions between organized groups.

Durov has also refused to supply authorities with documentation to intercept messages and has been charged with providing cryptographic services without the necessary compliance. Telegram offers end-to-end encryption for messages, though most channels also function as openly accessible social media.

The charges do not mention the lack of moderators on Telegram channels. Durov has been charged with providing cryptographic services without proper disclosure.

Three of the charges against Durov mention the usage of “cryptology tools” in an unauthorized manner. This has left even blockchain developers a bit confused, as the authority language can also apply to all digital asset transactions. Lyudmila Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, believes some of the charges can target the usage of math-based security.

Most probably, the charges refer to Telegram’s native end-to-end encryption. This type of encryption is not banned in Europe, but authorities can request an investigation and the handing over of encryption keys.

So, essentially, Pavel is being accused of ensuring confidentiality on his platform and refusing to hand over user data.

This has extreme ramifications for the future.

Don’t be fooled for a second into thinking this is just an isolated incident.

Who will they come for next?

Elon?