Durov's lawyers contest indictment as Telegram founder is questioned again in Paris

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been questioned by investigators in France as part of the ongoing probe into his messenger’s alleged role in spreading illegal content.

His latest summoning to a Paris court signals the French judiciary is not easing the pressure on the tech entrepreneur, despite admitting the platform has improved cooperation with authorities.

Durov appears in French court for more questioning

Telegram’s founder and chief executive, Pavel Durov, has been questioned again by investigative magistrates in Paris this week, the French crypto portal Journal du Coin and the AFP news agency reported, quoting knowledgeable sources.

The 40-year-old Russian has been accused of complicity in criminal activity by managing a messaging app that allowed the sharing of illegal content, including child pornography, and illicit transactions. This is his third interrogation since he was charged with multiple violations in that regard.

Durov has already rejected these allegations. On Monday, he arrived at a courthouse in Paris with four of his lawyers who later unveiled he had provided additional explanations “demonstrating the inanity of the facts that are the subject of the investigation.”

However, while maintaining that he never intended Telegram for illicit use, Durov has previously acknowledged growing criminal activity on the platform and agreed to strengthen moderation.

French authorities have since noted improvement in Telegram’s cooperation, according to the law enforcement sources quoted by Agence France-Presse.

Pavel Durov’s French saga continues

The Russian-born billionaire, who is also a citizen of France, was arrested in August 2024 and first questioned in December. He was initially banned from leaving the country, but eventually, earlier in July, was allowed to visit the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is headquartered in Dubai.

Despite addressing concerns expressed by the French government, including by recently launching a Telegram tool facilitating the reporting of illegal content by users, he is still not off the hook in France, Journal du Coin noted, commenting:

“The French justice system seems determined not to let go of Pavel Durov, even though he has made efforts to improve the moderation of his platform.”

After his latest meeting with investigative judges in Paris, the attorneys issued a statement denouncing the “numerous investigative actions” targeting Durov “in defiance of domestic and European law” and declared:

“We firmly contest the legality of our client’s indictment.”

The lawyers have also submitted an appeal claiming the case against Pavel Durov is unconstitutional in France and requested a preliminary ruling from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

In an interview with Le Point last month, Durov discussed his relations with governments and indicated he is not inclined to give in to their pressure.

The tech businessman has had troubles in the past with authorities in his native Russia as well, where law enforcement agencies wanted Telegram to share correspondence of users suspected of crimes or terrorism.

Pavel Durov had previously refused to censor VK accounts of anti-government demonstrators in Russia and to hand over personal info of Ukrainian protesters during the Euromaidan to the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service.

Launched as Vkontakte, VK is the most popular Russian social media which was co-founded by Durov in 2006. He left Russia after selling his remaining stake in the company in 2014, following his dismissal as CEO, alleging VK had been taken over by allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

More recently, the entrepreneur denied media reports that Telegram is preparing to open an office in Russia to comply with local regulations and also rejected news that the messenger was leaving the Russian market, describing it as part of a “targeted campaign to discredit Telegram.”

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