In a surprising turn of events, Pavel Durov, the billionaire CEO of Telegram, was released from police custody on Wednesday and handed over to an investigative judge, as per multiple reports.
This development comes on the heels of a revelation that his iPhone was compromised in a joint operation by France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2017, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Durov, a Russian-born tech magnate, was apprehended in France last Saturday on the grounds of alleged non-compliance with investigations into cyber and financial crimes on Telegram. According to French news outlet Figaro and a judicial source from Reuters, Durov was released following a four-day interrogation by French police. The investigative judge is now tasked with determining whether there is sufficient evidence to formally investigate Durov as part of the ongoing probe into organized crime on the messaging app. The decision is anticipated later on Wednesday, although such investigations can span years before proceeding to trial or being dismissed.
As reported by Fox Business, a Wall Street Journal report earlier on Wednesday, citing individuals familiar with the matter, alleged that Durov's phone was hacked in a 2017 spy operation codenamed "Purple Music". This incident reportedly occurred approximately a year before Durov's lunch meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, where the possibility of Durov acquiring French citizenship was discussed.
This luncheon was one among a series of meetings Macron had with tech entrepreneurs, a source close to Macron revealed to Reuters. In 2021, Durov was granted citizenship by both France and the UAE, with the latter investing over $75 million into his platform that year.
The hacking operation was reportedly triggered by concerns from French security officials regarding the Islamic State's use of Telegram for recruitment and planning attacks. A former French intelligence official from Frances General Directorate for Internal Security informed the outlet that compromising Telegram was a long-standing goal of the country's spy services, although the official refrained from commenting on the alleged hacking operation against Durov.
The duration of the phone hack remains unclear. Durov, who founded the encrypted messaging service Telegram in 2013, has amassed a net worth of approximately $15.5 billion, as per Forbes. The app, now headquartered in the UAE where Durov resides, boasts over 900 million monthly active users according to its own data. Durov also holds citizenship in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Telegram has faced criticism from various governments attempting to curb the spread of misinformation or information critical of governments. The app has played a pivotal role in disseminating information on the Russia-Ukraine war, with authorities on both sides using its channels to broadcast their narratives about the conflict.
Durov, a native of Soviet Leningrad and a graduate of St. Petersburg State University, left Russia in 2014 after refusing government orders to shut down opposition communities on his former social media platform, VK, which he has since sold, according to Reuters.
His arrest last Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris, following his arrival on a private jet from Azerbaijan, was part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations, as stated by the Paris prosecutors office on Monday. The arrest sparked immediate backlash from free speech advocates, including tech billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has leveled censorship allegations against the media and the Biden-Harris administration.
Despite Macron's assertion on Monday that the arrest was not politically motivated, the Paris prosecutors office outlined the suspected violations in a statement on Monday. These include complicity in selling child pornography and in drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organized crime transactions, and refusing to share information or documents with investigators when required by law, as reported by the Associated Press.
Jean-Michel Bernigaud, secretary general of OFMIN, a French police agency tasked with preventing violence against minors, stated that Durov's arrest was related to the platform allegedly not properly moderating content related to child sex crimes.
Despite Durov's meeting with Macron in 2018, French authorities have long viewed Telegram with suspicion. They have adopted a stringent approach to regulating online platforms by rooting out information they deem fuels antisemitism and racism and tackling illegal commerce on these platforms.
This year, the European Union also approved the Digital Services Act, which mandates online platforms to intensify their efforts in policing the internet for illegal content. Companies face fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover for DMA violations and 6% for DSA breaches.
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