Twelve months after his high-profile arrest in Paris, Telegram founder Pavel Durov says French prosecutors have yet to present any evidence of wrongdoing.
In a lengthy update shared on his own platform, the tech entrepreneur described the continuing case as “strange” and “legally and logically absurd”.
Source: Telegram
Durov was taken into custody on 24 August 2024, accused of being complicit in crimes carried out through Telegram.
French investigators charged him with 12 offences, including facilitating money laundering and the distribution of child sexual abuse material.
He was subsequently placed under formal investigation, triggering a wave of criticism from digital rights advocates, human rights groups and the global crypto community.
Critics argued the case was an attempt to pressure the Dubai-based company into tougher censorship.
Durov wrote in his recent post,
“Arresting a CEO of a major platform over the actions of its users was not only unprecedented — it was legally and logically absurd.”
Although Durov was eventually granted limited travel permission in March 2025, he remains under strict judicial conditions.
He is allowed to travel only to Dubai, where Telegram’s headquarters and his family are based, for up to 14 consecutive days at a time.
Each trip must be pre-approved by notifying an investigating judge one week in advance.
Any travel to other destinations requires additional authorisation from the French courts.
Feeling frustrated, Durov wrote,
“A year later, the ‘criminal investigation’ against me is still struggling to find anything that I or Telegram did wrong. [...] One year after this strange arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight. ”
The prolonged case has prompted Durov to publicly criticise France’s commitment to civil liberties.
He warned the wider implications for technology leaders operating in Europe.
“The French government has done irreparable damage to France’s image as a free country.”
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected claims of political motivation behind the arrest.
In a post shared on 26 August 2024, Macron wrote,
“In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
The statement did little to quiet criticism online.
Source: X
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of node provider Helius, responded directly to Macron’s remarks, asking:
“Why aren't you personally in jail for not controlling 100% of all crime in France?”
Throughout the ordeal, Durov has insisted that Telegram follows the same content moderation practices as other major tech platforms and responds to all legally binding requests from French law enforcement.
He remains firm on his refusal to compromise user privacy.
He said,
“The Telegram platform will not compromise user privacy by handing over encryption keys or building backdoors into the messaging application.”
Durov has previously stated the company would rather exit a jurisdiction entirely than violate its principles.
Telegram’s wider ecosystem also came into focus in the months following the arrest.
The Open Network (TON), which is integrated into the messaging app, saw a noticeable spike in active wallet addresses in the weeks after August 2024.
The network’s native token, Toncoin, is currently the twenty-first largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Toncoin has since been adopted by Verb Technology, which now holds more than 8% of the circulating supply and plans to rebrand as Ton Strategy Company.
Although activity on TON has slowed from its post-arrest peak, it remains a major player in the Web3 landscape built around Telegram.
As of August 2025, the investigation remains open, and Durov’s legal team has not been given a timeline for an appeal or trial.
The absence of concrete findings has only intensified questions around the legal basis for the case.
For now, the founder of one of the world’s most-used messaging platforms continues to fight a case that shows no signs of ending soon.
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