39-year-old Pavel Durov, the creator and head of the messaging service Telegram, was arrested on Saturday evening at Le Bourget airport in France. Durov has dual French-Russian citizenship, so, as he stepped off his private jet in Le Bourget, accompanied by a bodyguard and a lady, he was detained by the Air Transport Gendarmerie pursuant to an arrest warrant from the Office of the Directorate of the National Judicial Police of France. This arrest warrant was only valid on the territory of France and when Durov arrived from Azerbaijan.
Legal Problems: The Charges Against Durov
Durov is under arrest in connection to serious charges linked to Telegram. The French government has put him on their wanted persons list due to apprehensions that features of Telegram, little or content moderation, throw-away telephone numbers, and integration of cryptocurrency have helped in illegal activities such as drugs, child pornography, and fraud.
It was then reported by the French that Durov was an accomplice in these acts, claiming his alleged noncompliance with police and moderators in filtering out harmful content. According to a report, Durov has deliberately avoided all such countries in which the Telegram is currently being investigated and has visited only those places which have little to no restrictions, for instance, Emirates, ex-USSR states, and South America.
Possible charges, with possible legal consequences
Now Dr Durov is arrested by the National Anti-Fraud Office, and it within the next two days almost certainly will be initiated into the courtroom. He has every possibility of being finally charged for terrorism, drug trafficking, complicity, fraud, laundering, and involvement in child pornography content.
In light of Durov’s substantial resources and the potential risk of his absconding, pre-trial detention is deemed highly probable. An investigator commented:
He has allowed a great number of offenses and crimes to be done on his platform and is doing nothing to alleviate or assist.
Influence of TON’s Value
The news about the arrest of Durov made a lot of noise in the community of cryptocurrencies. Right after this announcement, the value of TON slid by 16%, showing that investors are indeed concerned about the future of Telegram and the stability of related projects.
The uncertainty from Durov’s legal cases and the possibility that regulators might crack down on Telegram accelerates the rising concern of market scrutiny and instability.
Check the latest TON Price
More on Pavel Durov
France on Digital Privacy and Cybercrime
Durov’s case highlights France’s tough stand on digital privacy and its efforts to combat platforms it perceives as facilitating criminal activities. The case is of far-reaching international implications, which expose the never-ending debate between the protection of free speech and the need to combat illegal online activities. This case can have significant international repercussions, as it could set a precedent, leading to even tighter restrictions across several countries within the globe on messaging applications providing end-to-end encryption. The world waits, as depending on this decision now lies the future of digital privacy, security, and regulation worldwide.
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