French authorities say arrest of Telegram CEO is linked to cybercrime investigation into unlicensed ‘cryptography’ service

The reason Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by French authorities became clearer on Monday after authorities released a statement.

Durov was arrested as part of a broader cybercrime investigation that included allegations that he provided “cryptographic” services and tools, according to a statement released by the Paris Court of Justice.

““Pavel DUROV, founder and CEO of the instant messaging platform and Telegram, was arrested on Saturday, August 24, 2024, at 8 p.m. at Le Bourget airport, outside Paris, and taken into police custody,” the statement read. “These actions were taken in the context of a judicial investigation opened on July 8, 2024, following a preliminary investigation initiated by Section J3-JUNALCO (Combat against Cybercrime) of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”

The statement continued to say that “a judicial investigation has been launched into the allegations against an unnamed person…p”.This applies to cases where cryptographic services are provided with the aim of ensuring confidentiality without prior notification, cryptographic tools that only ensure authentication or integrity monitoring are provided without prior notification, or cryptographic tools that ensure authentication or integrity monitoring are imported without prior notification.”

Several other charges were listed, including: Conspiracy to “possess pornography of minors” and “launder proceeds of criminal and illegal activities of an organized group.”

According to the press release, Durov is being questioned as part of a cybercrime investigation, and the executive could be detained until August 28.

Several prominent figures in the crypto world have expressed support for Durov, including Elon Musk, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin (who has stated that his comments are based on information known to him at the moment), TRON founder Justin Sun, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

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