Accused of multiple cyber crimes, will Telegram's founder be sentenced to prison?

Author: Climber, Golden Finance

On August 24, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested at a French airport. After speculation from all sides, the French authorities finally issued a detention statement, that is, Durov was suspected of providing unauthorized "cryptography" services and tools and other cyber crimes, in addition to providing child pornography and profit sharing in "money laundering".

There are as many as 12 charges involved, and other countries such as the United Arab Emirates and India are also following up on the case. At present, the police have extended Durov's detention from August 25 to 96 hours later on the 28th, but when this stage of detention is over, the judge can still decide to release or continue to detain him by filing charges. If the subsequent charges are convicted, Pavel Durov will face jail time.

Durov may face criminal charges after detention

Since the news of Pavel Durov's arrest at the French airport, speculations have been endless, such as Durov's arrest was a fabricated political incident, allegations of fraud, money laundering, terrorism, etc., and the existence of drug trafficking, gun black market and child pornography on the Telegram platform.  

In response to the above rumors in the media, French President Macron first stated that Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested due to judicial investigation and was not politically motivated. A police spokesman said that Pavel Durov was accused of failing to cooperate with cyber and financial crimes on the platform. But no specific charges were disclosed.

With the expiration of Pavel Durov's detention, the prosecutor of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office, the main responsible institution for the case, finally stood up to explain that Durov was arrested and detained for cybercrime investigation. Durov was accused of conspiracy with illegal activities, refusal to provide information to the authorities, money laundering, criminal gang association and undeclared provision of encryption services.

According to a statement released by the Paris Judicial Court, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested on suspicion of cybercrime, and the charges he faces include providing unauthorized "cryptography" services and tools. The case may involve fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorist propaganda and cyberbullying.

The statement said: "Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the instant messaging platform Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport in the suburbs of Paris on Saturday, August 24, 2024, and was detained by the police at 8 pm. This move was implemented in the context of a judicial investigation that began on July 8, 2024, after a preliminary investigation was launched by the Anti-Cybercrime Department of the Paris Prosecutor's Office. The charge of the judicial investigation is the provision of cryptography services and tools."

Several other charges are listed in the document, including conspiracy to "possess pornographic images of minors" and "laundering illegal proceeds for criminal organizations." In addition, the French Paris Prosecutor's Office said that the Durov case under investigation involves 12 crimes, most of which are cybercrimes.

At present, the police have extended Durov's detention from August 25 to the 28th, 96 hours later, but when this stage of detention is over, the judge can still decide to release or continue to detain him by filing charges.  

At the same time, other countries such as the UAE are also following up on Durov's arrest. The Indian government is investigating the potential abuse of Telegram in criminal activities, especially extortion and gambling. The Indian investigation is led by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, focusing on criminal activities in Telegram's peer-to-peer communication function. If the results of the investigation are unfavorable, the application may face the risk of being banned.

Public information shows that the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office consists of the Public Prosecutor's Office, 6 departments, 16 sections and a prosecution alternative procedure center. The case against Durov was launched on July 8 this year after a preliminary investigation initiated by the Anti-Cybercrime Department of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office.

The various sub-departments include the Paris General Public Action Department, which is responsible for some territorial public actions, the minors (offenders and victims) section, and the Center for Alternative Proceedings; the Paris Special Public Action Department, which is responsible for economy, finance, business, organized crime and drugs; the JIRS / JUNALCO Department, which is responsible for the JIRS organized crime section, the JIRS financial crime section, and the J3 cybercrime section; the Judgment and Execution Department, which is mainly responsible for registration and hearings, judgment execution and international criminal assistance.

Among the above departments, the Durov case is mainly handled by the JIRS / JUNALCO Department, and Durov's investigation, interrogation and even judgment will be coordinated by the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office.

Clarification, resistance, support, the law is the final answer 

Regarding the arrest of the founder of Telegram, Telegram officials first responded to the incident by saying that the company complies with EU laws, audits meet industry standards and are constantly improving. Specifically, Telegram complies with EU law, including the Digital Services Act - its audits meet industry standards and are constantly improving. Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov is not hiding and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that "a platform or platform owner should be responsible for abuse on the platform." Nearly one billion users around the world use Telegram as a means of communication and an important source of information. The team is waiting for a prompt resolution to this situation.

TON also issued a statement on the arrest of Telegram CEO, saying that TON will continue to operate in full and will firmly support Durov. TON's official Twitter account added the Resistance Dog logo hand-painted by Telegram's founder in 2018 to its avatar, and launched a digital resistance movement called "We stand with Pavel Durov (Telegram CEO)".

The TON Foundation introduced that the dog in a hoodie (also known as the Resistance Dog) was originally drawn and named by Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram and TON, in 2018. REDO has been the (un)official mascot of Telegram's vision of "resistance" to censorship since then.

The arrest of the Telegram founder and the resistance of the TON community have also attracted solidarity and support from all parties.

The Russian Embassy in Paris said it had requested a consular visit to Durov and asked the French authorities to ensure the protection of his rights. Russian officials are in contact with Durov's lawyer. Vladislav Davankov, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, called on the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media to immediately block the websites of major French companies operating in Russia.

Musk also released a video with the tag FreePavel to support Telegram founder again. Franklin Bi, general partner of venture capital fund Pantera Capital, also released a short message "#FreePavel". The founder of DWF Labs said that he had bought $500,000 of TON on the chain and would hold it until the release of Telegram CEO.  

Many institutions and celebrities also gave their own comments on the above events.

Russian officials and official media experts also criticized the West's "double standards" on freedom of speech in response to Durov's detention. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, said that Durov's detention was an example of "very shocking totalitarian trends in countries that used to call themselves democratic." Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Durov's detention should be a wake-up call for all Russian entrepreneurs who have left Russia.

Ekaterina Mizulina, head of the Russian Secure Internet Alliance, believes that the arrest of Pavel Durov, one of the founders of Telegram, in France was a request from the United States. She wrote on her personal channel on Telegram: "I have long believed that the head of Telegram is in danger outside Russia and may be arrested at any time. Similar situations have happened before at the request of the United States. I originally thought that no one touched him because he might have cooperated with Western intelligence agencies, but recent news shows that everything seems to be different."

In addition, Mizulina believes that the arrest of Durov is to crack down on the super currency Toncoin circulating on Telegram. She said that in this way, the United States will continue its sanctions policy.

Musk said that Durov's arrest was to promote the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and sarcastically said, "It's Europe in 2030, and you are being executed for liking a meme."

Snowden said that France's arrest of Telegram CEO is a violation of basic human rights such as freedom of speech, which not only shames France, but also the whole world.

No matter how various social parties express their opinions and comments, the trial of Durov's case will ultimately need to refer to legal provisions. As early as 2001, many countries signed the European Cyber-crime Convention in Budapest and formulated the Cyber-crime Convention.

It stipulates that Article 7 of the computer-related crimes, namely computer-related forgery, requires each contracting party to take necessary legislative and other measures to criminalize cyber-related acts according to its domestic law. The Cybercrime Convention stipulates in Chapter 2, from Article 2 to Article 10, that the signatory countries need to punish nine types of cyber-crimes with criminal law. Among them, the regulations related to the Durov case are:

3) Data interference: includes any intentional destruction, deletion, damage, modification or concealment of computer data. This provision is to ensure the authenticity of computer data and the availability of computer programs.

5) Misuse of devices: includes the production, sale, distribution or any way of providing any equipment that engages in the above-mentioned cyber crimes. Since the easiest way to commit the above-mentioned cybercrimes is to use hacker tools, the production and sale of these tools have been indirectly promoted. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly punish the production and sale of these tools to basically eliminate cybercrimes.

7) Computer-related fraud: including any data input, modification, deletion or hiding of any computer data with fraudulent intent, or interfering with the normal operation of the computer system, seeking illegal benefits for individuals and causing property losses to others. This is a criminal act that requires criminal punishment.

8) Offences related to child pornography: including all production, provision, distribution or transmission, acquisition and possession of child pornography in computer systems. This provision refers to any child pornography crimes mentioned above that are carried out using computer systems.

In the ancillary liability and sanctions, the attempt and aiding or abetting in Article 11 and the corporate liability in Article 12 are limited. And in Article 13, Sanctions and Measures, it is stipulated that: 1. Each State Party shall take the necessary legislative and other measures to ensure that the criminal offences established in accordance with Articles 2 to 11 are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, including deprivation of liberty. 2. Each State Party shall ensure that legal persons liable in accordance with Article 12 are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal or non-criminal sanctions or measures, including fines.

That is to say, no matter which of the charges is proven, Durov will face criminal penalties.

Conclusion 

The arrest of the founder of Telegram caused an uproar. Both the crypto circle and the traditional financial field are paying attention to the future and fate of this business celebrity. If the French authorities strictly abide by the law, then under the constraints of relevant legal provisions, Durov is likely to be in danger. Even if Telegram can avoid being involved in corruption, as the world's leading encrypted social platform, the illegal activities implied by it cannot guarantee that it will become a chain of evidence that trips up Durov.