Pavel Durov left under judicial supervision

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been released and placed under judicial supervision; he is prohibited from leaving France, BFMTV reports , citing the Paris prosecutor's office.

Durov will have to post bail of 5 million euros and will also be required to visit the police twice a week.

The prosecutor's statement also said that Durov faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 euros.

French authorities also put Durov's brother Nikolai on the wanted list as a co-founder of the messenger, Politico writes . The publication claims that this happened on March 25, 2024. Nikolai Durov is suspected of complicity in the storage or distribution of child pornography.

Earlier it was reported that the investigation into Pavel Durov was launched in July. The French prosecutor's office said he was detained in a case brought against an "unnamed person" on 12 charges, including failure to cooperate with authorities, complicity in the distribution of pornographic images of minors, complicity in drug trafficking and fraud as part of an organized group.

France Info, citing its own sources, reported that the investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov is being conducted by the gendarmerie's cybercrime unit and the anti-fraud department.

The founder of the Telegram messenger was detained on the evening of August 24 at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, where he arrived on a private jet from Azerbaijan. Along with the crew members, business coach Yulia Vavilova and Durov's security guard were allegedly on board the Embraer Legacy. The next day, the court extended Durov's detention, AFP reported .

Earlier, several Russian publications , citing the French TV channel TF1, reported that Durov allegedly faces 20 years in prison. However, as Agency has ascertained , TF1 and other major French media did not publish this information. In addition, Agency notes that state media used Durov's detention to "accuse the West of double standards," and Channel One even hinted that American intelligence services were behind the detention.

The Kremlin declined to comment on Durov's detention. "Let's wait until the charges are announced. If they are announced, if it comes to that. After that, it will be possible to draw some preliminary conclusions," said Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov. He also added that Putin did not meet with Durov in Baku.

Russia has demanded that diplomats have access to Durov, but Paris considers his French citizenship to be his primary one. He received a French passport in 2021 through a special procedure granting citizenship to "individuals who promote the interests of France."

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