PARIS: Telegram founder Pavel Durov has publicly criticised France’s ongoing investigation into illegal content on his messaging platform.
Durov stated that authorities were “struggling” to find evidence of wrongdoing exactly one year after his high-profile detention.
“One year ago, the French police detained me for four days because some people I’d never heard of used Telegram to coordinate crimes,“ Durov wrote on his Telegram channel Sunday evening.
“A year later, the ‘criminal investigation’ against me is still struggling to find anything that I or Telegram did wrong,“ he said.
The Russian-born entrepreneur was dramatically detained in Paris during 2024 and remains under formal investigation for alleged complicity in criminal activity through his platform.
French authorities have accused Durov of complicity in operating a platform that facilitated illicit transactions, child abuse imagery, and other illegal content.
Durov has consistently denied all allegations and condemned his arrest as doing “massive damage to France’s image as a free country”.
“Arresting a CEO of a major platform over the actions of its users was not only unprecedented – it was legally and logically absurd,“ Durov wrote, pledging to “keep fighting”.
The technology founder has additionally accused French authorities of failing to follow proper legal procedures when submitting content moderation inquiries.
“Our moderation practices align with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to every legally binding request from France,“ Durov said.
During initial questioning in December 2024, Durov acknowledged a growing criminal presence on Telegram while pledging to strengthen content oversight measures.
French courts initially banned Durov from leaving France before relaxing his judicial control in July 2025.
The modified conditions now permit him to reside in the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram maintains its headquarters, for maximum two-week periods.
“I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight,“ he confirmed. – AFP