Durov grilled 6+ hours in Paris — fourth interrogation, 22 months in, defence says still no evidence
TL;DR
Durov faced his fourth Paris interrogation for over 6 hours on July 8; 22 months into the Telegram case, defence says no evidence has surfaced.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov sat for a fourth interrogation with French investigating judges in Paris on July 8; AFP and TF1 clocked the session at over 6 hours. It has been 22 months since his August 24, 2024 arrest at a Paris airport and formal indictment. After four rounds of questioning, his defence keeps repeating one line: "There is still no evidence supporting these charges."
The charge sheet centers on insufficient content moderation and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, folded into complicity in the distribution of child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud. If the "operating a platform for organized crime" count sticks, Durov faces up to 10 years in prison and a €500,000 fine.
At indictment the court set €5 million bail, twice-weekly reporting to a Nice police station, and a ban on leaving France. Restrictions were lifted on November 13, 2025, restoring his freedom of movement. The July 8 session is his first voluntary appearance since the lift.
Durov and Telegram have held one line for a year: the platform has a standard law-enforcement contact channel, and the French government skipped it and went straight to personal criminal liability. Regulators globally have been copying the "platform-plus-CEO" framing since August 24 — the EU DSA, the UK's Online Safety Act, and US state-level KOSA are all trending that way.
Win the bet, and Durov rides out the 30-month French investigation window to a dismissal, giving Telegram a clean founder-endures narrative. Lose it, and even without evidence, prosecutors invoke special extensions — Durov's next five years still include recurring courthouse photos in Paris.
via TASS / News.az / Kommersant
The charge sheet centers on insufficient content moderation and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, folded into complicity in the distribution of child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud. If the "operating a platform for organized crime" count sticks, Durov faces up to 10 years in prison and a €500,000 fine.
At indictment the court set €5 million bail, twice-weekly reporting to a Nice police station, and a ban on leaving France. Restrictions were lifted on November 13, 2025, restoring his freedom of movement. The July 8 session is his first voluntary appearance since the lift.
Durov and Telegram have held one line for a year: the platform has a standard law-enforcement contact channel, and the French government skipped it and went straight to personal criminal liability. Regulators globally have been copying the "platform-plus-CEO" framing since August 24 — the EU DSA, the UK's Online Safety Act, and US state-level KOSA are all trending that way.
Win the bet, and Durov rides out the 30-month French investigation window to a dismissal, giving Telegram a clean founder-endures narrative. Lose it, and even without evidence, prosecutors invoke special extensions — Durov's next five years still include recurring courthouse photos in Paris.
via TASS / News.az / Kommersant
