Telegram's Pavel Durov reflects on French criminal case one year after arrest: 'Legally and logically absurd'

Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, reflected on his arrest one year ago by French authorities with a message on the platform, claiming French authorities have so far failed to find evidence of wrongdoing on his part. 

"Arresting a CEO of a major platform over the actions of its users was not only unprecedented — it was legally and logically absurd," Durov wrote of his arrest , which made international headlines and spurred support from the crypto community. 

Durov was arrested on August 24, 2024, and was later charged with 12 counts related to complicity in crimes facilitated by the messaging app, from money laundering to child sexual abuse material distribution. Durov was formally placed under investigation related to the charges. 

"A year later, the 'criminal investigation' against me is still struggling to find anything that I or Telegram did wrong," Durov continued. "One year after this strange arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight."

Telegram is home to a thriving Web3 scene through its integrations with The Open Network, whose native token, Toncoin, is the twenty-first largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to price data. Toncoin has been adopted into a digital asset treasury (DAT) company called Verb Technology, which currently holds over 8% of the token's circulating supply and plans to rebrand to Ton Strategy Company. 

Active addresses on TON spiked in the weeks following Durov's arrest, though activity has somewhat subsided since that peak, according to The Block's data. 

Durov was first allowed to leave France in March to travel to Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered and Durov's family is based. Following an appeals court decision, Durov may leave metropolitan France only to Dubai, for up to 14 consecutive days per trip, provided he notifies the investigating judge one week in advance. Other locations require additional authorization from a French judge.