After receiving consent from a French court, Pavel Durov, the creator of the well-known messaging software Telegram, left France and moved to Dubai.
A Barron’s story citing unidentified sources claims that on March 13, Durov was granted permission by the French court to leave the country and fly to Dubai, a city renowned for its business-friendly atmosphere and absence of extradition arrangements with other countries.
Although the specifics of the court’s ruling are yet unknown, discussions over jurisdiction, privacy, and the obligations of internet companies to prevent unlawful activity on their platforms have been rekindled by Durov’s move.
“He (Durov) departed France this morning,” according to AFP, which cited anonymous sources, adding that he did so with permission from the authorities. He had been given permission to depart France for “several weeks,” according to another source.
When the founder of Telegram was briefly detained at Paris’s Le Bourget airport on August 24, his legal troubles started.
Charges were issued on Aug. 28, 2024, accusing Durov of operating a platform that allegedly facilitates illicit activity.
As previously reported, in August 2024, Durov was unexpectedly taken into custody by French officials at Paris’s Le Bourget airport.
On August 28, the Parquet de Paris, France’s prosecutor’s office, swiftly released a statement on preliminary charges against Durov, charging the founder of Telegram with enabling a network that facilitates illegal activities.
According to the prosecution, Durov may be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined 500,000 euros ($550,000).
On August 28, Durov was freed from French detention following the payment of $6 million bail. He had to stay in France, though, and the French government only ordered him to appear in court when the inquiry was over.
