The Russian-born founder of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, on Monday said it was “great to be home” after he was allowed to temporarily return to Dubai from France despite being investigated over illegal content on the popular service.
Durov, 40, was arrested in France last year, held for several days and charged over illegal content that was being posted on Telegram by users. He was released but not allowed to leave the country.
But he returned to the United Arab Emirates, where he lives and has nationality, at the weekend after receiving permission from the investigating magistrates in charge of the case to leave France.
“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,” Durov wrote in a post on Telegram.
“The process is ongoing, but it feels great to be home,” he said.
He thanked the investigative judges “for letting this happen”, while adding that “for years Telegram not only met but exceeded its legal obligations”.
Durov was able to leave France after the investigating judges — for a period of March 15 to April 7 — relieved him of his obligations under the measures of judicial control that had been imposed on him after he was released last year, the office of the Paris prosecutor told AFP on Monday.
He had been expected to report to police twice a week and was banned from leaving French territory, as well as posting five million euros in bail.
His August 2024 arrest was the first time the founder of a social media company was arrested over content on their platform. With more than 900 million active users, Telegram is one of top messaging apps in the world.
After days of questioning following his arrest, he was charged with several counts of failing to curb “extremist” and “terrorist” content.
Extracts from Durov’s questioning in December through an interpreter and seen by AFP showed that he initially blamed French authorities for failing to alert Telegram to alleged criminal activity.
He nevertheless admitted that, while in custody, he “realised the seriousness of all the allegations”.
