Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has been released from police custody in France following his arrest over the weekend. He is set to appear before a judge this afternoon over 12 alleged criminal violations. JUST IN: Telegram Founder & CEO Pavel Durov has been released from police custody and is now being transferred to court. pic.twitter.com/dj9vLGhQWh — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) August 28, 2024 “CEO Pavel Durov has been released – he is scheduled to appear before a French court over allegations that his platform was used for ‘illegal activities,'” Patrick Henningsen commented. LATEST: #Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been released – he is scheduled to appear before a French court over allegations that his platform was used for ‘illegal activities’. Q: So should the CEOs of mobile phone networks and email services also be arrested for ‘allowing’ their… pic.twitter.com/hVRAn9pBAU — Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) August 28, 2024 Per Daily Mail: The Paris prosecutor’s office said: ‘An investigating judge has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment.’ Other allegations against Durov, who is a French citizen, include that his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, fraud and abetting organised crime transactions, and that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law. An investigating magistrate will decide whether to press charges against Durov, and the judiciary would then rule on whether he will be remanded in custody or allowed to go free, possibly under judicial control with restrictions on his movements. #PavelDurov has appeared before an investigating judge who will decide whether he will be charged. Or whether he will be released – confirmed on French television https://t.co/hzeWDkpAeG pic.twitter.com/agubJ1ohWa — Boris Alexander Beissner (@boris_beissner) August 28, 2024 Pavel Durov Released From Police Custody The Telegram CEO Pavel Durov awaits questioning before a judge. pic.twitter.com/3giV9vHnR5 — RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 28, 2024 From The Moscow Times: Questions have arisen about the timing and circumstances of Durov’s detention, with supporters seeing him as a freedom of speech champion and detractors as a menace who wilfully allowed Telegram to get out of control. Le Monde reported Wednesday that the billionaire met French President Emmanuel Macron on several occasions before receiving French citizenship in 2021, via a special procedure reserved for those deemed to have made a special contribution to the country. The Wall Street Journal reported that at one such lunch in 2018, Macron, who along with his team was in the past an avid user of Telegram, suggested the company should be headquartered in Paris. Durov allegedly refused to relocate his business.