Pavel Durov called the charges against him "absurd"
Date: 2025-08-26 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messenger, a year after his arrest in France, said that the investigative authorities have not presented evidence of his guilt or facts confirming violations by the company. According to him, the very idea of arresting the head of a large platform for the actions of users "contradicts both logic and the law."
Despite the lack of a date for the appeal, the entrepreneur is required to return to France every two weeks. Durov emphasized that such measures do not contribute to the investigation in any way, but only undermine the international reputation of the French legal system.
The country's authorities brought 12 charges against him. Among them are fraud, aiding in money laundering and failure to take measures to prevent the distribution of prohibited content, including materials on child sexual abuse. The French side claims that the head of Telegram ignored their requests and did not interfere with the activities of the attackers. The criminal case itself remains at the preliminary investigation stage.
Since Durov's arrest in July, he has been summoned for questioning three times. According to the representative of the Paris prosecutor's office, Mailis de Recq, the case materials may not be transferred to court earlier than in a year, and probably later. Durov himself believes that the process could drag on for years, and in the event of a guilty verdict, he faces up to ten years in prison.
The story of the arrest caused a wide resonance in the crypto community. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed concern that such cases threaten the "future of software freedom" in Europe.
Against the backdrop of the scandal, the rate of Toncoin, the native token of the TON blockchain, has noticeably dropped. According to CoinGecko, over the past year it has fallen in price by almost 44% and is trading around $3.1.
Nevertheless, Telegram's financial performance remains stable. The company's November 2024 reports provided to investors emphasized that the arrest of its founder had not had a significant impact on the business. This was facilitated by the growth in the value of crypto assets on the balance sheet.
Thus, the high-profile case against Pavel Durov is still in limbo: the accusations sound serious, but no evidence has been presented yet. And the process itself is increasingly turning into a political and legal story, where not only the fate of the entrepreneur is at stake, but also trust in the European justice system.
