Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Charged With 'Wide Range of Crimes' in France, Barred From Leaving

Pavel Durov, the chief executive officer of Telegram, was charged in France for complicity in the spread of sexual images of children and other crimes on the messaging app.

The charges against Durov also include allegations he refused to help authorities run legal wiretaps on suspects, Paris prosecutors said on Wednesday. They come after the 39-year-old was stopped at Le Bourget airport north of Paris on Saturday after disembarking from a private jet.

Pavel Durov, the entrepreneur who founded the online communications tool Telegram, was charged on Wednesday in France with a wide range of crimes related to illicit activity on the app and barred from leaving the country.

It was a rare move by legal authorities to hold a top technology executive personally liable for the behavior of users on a major messaging platform, escalating the debate over the role of technology companies in online speech and the limits of their responsibility.

Mr. Durov, 39, who was detained by French authorities on Saturday, was placed under formal investigation on a range of charges, including complicity in managing an online platform to enable illegal transactions; complicity in crimes such as enabling the distribution of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking and fraud; and a refusal to cooperate with law enforcement.

Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said in a statement that Mr. Durov had been ordered to pay bail of 5 million euros, or about $5.5 million, and was released but must check in at a police station twice a week.

⚡️Telegram CEO leaves Paris courthouse pic.twitter.com/bINDj6lS7Q

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[...] In France, complex criminal cases like the one against Mr. Durov are initiated by prosecutors but ultimately handled by special judges with broad investigative powers, who charge defendants when they believe that the evidence points to serious wrongdoing. The magistrates can later drop the charges if they do not believe that the evidence is sufficient to proceed to trial, and cases can take years — meaning a swift resolution of Mr. Durov’s case is unlikely.

If Mr. Durov was eventually convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, Ms. Beccuau said.