Lawyer: France's charges against Telegram chief 'absurd'

The lawyer of Pavel Durov, the billionaire CEO and co-founder of Telegram, has dismissed "absurd" allegations raised against his high-profile client, who is the target of an unprecedented investigation in France.

“It's totally absurd to think that the person in charge of a social network could be implicated in criminal acts that don't concern him, directly or indirectly,” David-Olivier Kaminski was quoted as saying by French media on Thursday.

France on Wednesday charged Durov with a litany of charges related to the messaging app and banned him from leaving the country while allowing the billionaire to walk free after four days under arrest.

Telegram chief’s ‘politically motivated’ arrest sparks worldwide reactions

The arrest of Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov in France has set off reactions among politicians and social media activists across the world, with calls growing for the release of the 39-year-old Franco-Russian billionaire.

The Kremlin warned France on Thursday that the arrest of Durov, which has worsened the already strained relations between Paris and Moscow, should not turn into a "political persecution" of the Russian-born tech entrepreneur, who holds citizenship in four countries, namely, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, United Arab Emirates, and France.

"The main thing is that what is happening in France does not turn into political persecution," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We know that the president of France has denied any connection (of the case) with politics, but on the other hand, certain accusations are being made. We will see what happens next."

Russia-French ties hit rock bottom following Telegram CEO’s arrest: Moscow

Russia says its relations with France have reached their lowest level since Paris’ arrest without charge of the Telegram messaging application’s CEO.

Telegram is used worldwide by close to a billion users.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is known to be an avid user of Telegram, is said to have unsuccessfully asked Durov to move his Telegram operations to France.

Earlier this week, Macron claimed that Durov's arrest was "in no way a political decision" and that the probe had been decided by judicial authorities, not by the government.

However, the arrest of Durov has fueled debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins, and to what extent tech companies should be held responsible for social media content.

The French judge leading the court’s probe of Durov put the 39-year-old under formal investigation on Wednesday, saying he was suspected of complicity in running an online platform that allows money laundering, illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and drug trafficking.

Durov, who is also under investigation for his alleged refusal to cooperate with French judicial officials, was arrested on Saturday at an airport near Paris.

The judge has seized his passport and set bail at 5 million euros.

The Telegram boss, who spent four days in custody, will now need to report to police twice a week.

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