Telegram founder Durov allowed to temporarily leave France - media
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been allowed to temporarily leave France, where he is charged with multiple infractions linked to allegedly enabling organised crime, accordning to sources, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
Durov, now 40, was sensationally detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris in August 2024 and charged with a litany of violations related to the popular messaging app he founded.
It was the first time the founder of a social media company was arrested over content on his platform. With more than 900 million active users, Telegram is one of top messaging apps in the world.
After days of questioning after his arrest, he was charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist and terrorist content and released on a five-million-euro ($5.6 million) bail.
He had been banned from leaving the country, but on Saturday flew out to Dubai, sources said.
"He departed France this morning," one knowledgeable source told AFP, adding that Durov had left with the authorities' permission.
Another source said Durov, one of the world's most influential tech bosses, had departed from Le Bourget airport outside Paris for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where his company is based.
According to a third source, an investigating judge had authorised the entrepreneur to leave France for "several weeks."
The Russian-born Durov holds Russian, French and United Arab Emirates passports. An enigmatic figure who rarely speaks in public, he is a multi-billionaire fond of ascetic practices.
A Telegram spokeswoman declined to comment when reached by AFP.
Durov's lawyers were not immediately available for comment.
The investigating judge accepted Durov's request to modify conditions of his supervision several days ago, said one of the sources.
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