Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been released on bail of 5 million euros.

Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has been released under supervision with a bail payment of 5 million euros and a condition of not leaving France. It was announced that Durov will sign with the French police twice a week as part of the investigation opened against him.

HE WAS DETAINED IN CONNECTION WITH 12 CRIMES

Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging application Telegram, was detained in Paris on August 24 as part of an investigation into 12 crimes, including drug trafficking, sale of child sexual abuse material, and fraud on the messaging platform. After four days of interrogation by the French police, it was announced that Durov was released under supervision with a bail payment of 5 million euros and a condition of not leaving France. It was stated that Durov will sign with the French police twice a week as part of the supervised release. In a statement made by Telegram on Monday, it was emphasized that the company's CEO Durov has nothing to hide. It was also stated that the moderation policy of the application is "industry standard" and constantly being improved. French President Emmanuel Macron made a statement on Monday regarding the comments made about the political dimension of the investigation, saying, "I have seen false information about France after Pavel Durov's arrest. France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit. It will remain so. In a rule of law, freedoms are protected within a legal framework to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights, both on social media and in real life. Enforcing the laws falls within the jurisdiction of the judiciary, in complete independence. The arrest of the founder of Telegram on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision. The decision on this matter is left to the judges."

WHO IS DUROV?

Pavel Durov (39), a technology entrepreneur born in Saint Petersburg, founded the social media application VKontakte in 2006, inspired by Facebook. The value of the company, now known as VK, reached 3 billion dollars. In November 2013, Durov sold 12% of VK's shares to Ivan Tavrin, the owner of MailRu. Later, MailRu acquired 52% of VK's shares. In 2014, MailRu acquired all the shares and became the owner of VK. Durov is currently known as the owner of the Berlin-based Telegram application and according to Forbes, he is the 112th richest person in the world with a net worth of 17.2 billion dollars.