"Hunting for Pavel Durov"

Politico said that the case against the founder of Telegram began with a policeman correspondence with a suspect in pedophilia

The investigation against the founder of Telegram Pavel Durov began after the messenger’s leadership did not respond to the request of the French authorities in the case of sexualized violence against children. This was reported by the European version of Politico in the publication under the heading "Hunting for Pavel Durov."

Journalists learned about this from the legal document, which had at the disposal of the editorial office. According to this document, the investigation, which led to Durov’s detention, began in the National Office for the Protection of Minors (OFMIN), in a division of the French police created in November 2023.

Investigators found references to the Telegram groups on social networks, the participants of which are exchanged by reports of sexualized violence. On social networks X, dozens of such links publish every hour, notes Politico. Accounts that distribute links to Telegram exist from several hours to several days. Often messages with links contain such hashtags as “teens” (“teenagers”) and “megalinks” (reference to the Mega file sharing).

During the secret operation, OFMIN, an agent under cover contacted Telegram with a person suspected of sexualized violence. In the correspondence, the suspect admitted that he contacted minor girls on a game online platform and convinced them to send “independently manufactured children's pornography,” the document refers to Politico. The suspect also admitted that he raped one girl. When investigators turned to Telegram with a request to reveal the identity of a person who admitted to rape, the messenger administration refused, the document says.

Because of this, investigators drew attention to Telegram leaders. According to the publication, at the request of the prosecutor's office of Paris on February 8, 2024, OFMIN began a preliminary investigation against the founders of Telegram Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai.

The prosecutor's office of Paris on March 1 asked the police to combat cybercrime police to collect information about all current investigations of crimes related to Telegram. At the same time, OFMIN investigators began to establish the whereabouts of the Durov brothers and Vice President of Telegram Ilya Perekopsky, who also appeared in the case. As stated in a legal document, on March 25, the French authorities issued an arrest warrant of the Durov brothers, while, as Politico notes, it is not clear whether the police began to search for Perekopsky.

According to Liberal, only the national gendarmerie of France sent 2460 requests to Telegram, which remained unanswered. An unnamed French official from the justice system told Politico that this is indicative data, but not exhaustive. The fact that Telegram does not respond to requests were also stated by France partners in the European Union, in particular Belgium, the Prosecutor's Office said.

The prosecutor's office of Paris on July 8 began an official court investigation, for which a meeting was held in the city court in this case. By that time, journalists found out, OFMIN investigators established the identity of the suspect, who talked with the agent under the cover. The document, which refers to the publication, says that by that time the case went out "far beyond the scope of children's pornography."

The French border police reported on August 24 to OFMIN and the Central Police Department that Pavel Durov flew to Paris from Baku with a bodyguard and 24-year-old Julia Vavilova, who positions itself as a “cryptoconsultant” in social networks. Presumably, Durov and Vavilov are connected by close relationships.

When Pavel Durov came off the board of the private aircraft Embraer Legacy 600 at Le Bourget Airport, he was detained. The next four days of Durov was interrogated by employees of the National Fraud Administration (ONAF). During the interrogation, Durov showed readiness for cooperation, in particular, transferred his phone to the investigators.

The founder of Telegram stated at the interrogation that the administration of the messenger was responding to court requests. According to him, the French authorities did not turn to him through the relevant channels. Durov added that he met with representatives of the French foreign intelligence service (DGSE) in Dubai, where he lives, and maintained contact with the internal security agency (DGSI) on the fight against terrorism.

Pavel Durov spent more than 90 hours in the ONAF office, answering questions and carefully reading the transcript of interrogation along with lawyer David-Olyvier Kaminsky. On August 28, Durov was brought to the court, where they were charged with organized crime, including complicity in the spread of drugs, child pornography, hacker programs, money laundering, as well as refusing to provide information at the request of authorized bodies. Durov was released on bail in the amount of five million euros, which allowed the businessman to avoid preliminary imprisonment. Durov was forbidden to leave France, he should be celebrated twice a week in the police.

Telegram and law representative Pavel Durov did not answer Politico questions.

Photo on the cover: Andre M. Chang / Zuma Press Wire / Scanpix / Leta