Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov delivered a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on February 23, 2016.
Albert Ghia | Reuters
French prosecutors on Wednesday accused Telegram CEO Pavel Durov of condoning criminal activity on the messaging platform and launched a formal investigation into him following his arrest on Saturday.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Durov was indicted on all charges announced in a prosecutor’s statement earlier this week. These include conspiring within an organized gang to manage an online platform for the purpose of conducting illegal transactions – a charge that itself carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and, if found, a fine of €500,000 ($555,830) after trial guilty.
Other charges include refusing to provide, upon request of an authorized authority, information or documents necessary to conduct and exploit an intercept authorized by law, resulting in the dissemination of child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud.
Durov has been in French custody since Saturday and faces questions from legal authorities over investigations into organized crime, drug trafficking, fraud and the distribution of pornographic images of minors on the platform.
Prosecutors said on Tuesday that Durov had paid a 5 million euro bail, was under judicial supervision, could not leave French territory and must report to the police station twice a week.
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire is accused of failing to curtail the misuse of his social media and messaging platforms for criminal activity.
Telegram was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC about the formal allegations.
Telegram said in a previously released statement XSocial Media Platform Earlier this week, the company complied with EU law and CEO Durov had “nothing to hide,” adding that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owners are responsible for the abuse of that platform.”
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