French authorities have handed Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov preliminary charges for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app, and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.
Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a sweeping judicial inquiry opened last month, and released earlier on Wednesday after four days of questioning.
Investigative judges filed preliminary charges on Wednesday night and ordered him to pay five million euros (£4.2 million) bail and to report to a police station twice a week, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Allegations against Russian-born Durov, who is a French citizen, include his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking and Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.
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