Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been temporarily allowed to leave France. A French court has granted him permission amid an investigation into alleged criminal activity on Telegram. The AFP news agency reported on Saturday (March 15).

Russian tech entrepreneur Durov, who holds citizenship of France, the United Arab Emirates and Saint Kitts in addition to Russia, was arrested at an airport in the country's capital, Paris, on August 25 when he arrived in France. He was charged with illegal transactions, drug trafficking, fraud and distributing images of child sexual abuse.

A French court charged him with allowing criminal activity on the Telegram app. But he was granted bail on the condition that he report to the police every two weeks and that he not leave France. But he was eventually allowed to leave France.


AFP reports that Durov requested a change in his restrictions a few days ago, and the judge granted it, allowing him to travel abroad for several weeks.

According to the report, Durov left France on Saturday morning (March 15) after receiving permission. The agency added that he had left for Dubai, where he had lived for seven years before his arrest.

However, a Telegram spokesperson declined to comment when contacted for comment. The spokesperson said Telegram would issue a statement on the matter later.

Durov has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He has argued that he should not be held responsible for the content of Telegram users. In a court hearing in January, he said that Telegram removes 150 to 200 million user accounts every month for breaking the law and removing content that violates children's rights.

Durov has previously called the arrest a "misleading" claim. He said that instead of arresting him, French authorities should have contacted Telegram with their complaints. Durov also rejected the accusation that the Telegram app is a "paradise for criminals."

He said the decision to investigate the Telegram app was surprising. He had set up a special hotline for French authorities to contact. They could speak to Telegram's European Union (EU) representative at any time if they wanted to.

Pavel Durov said that if a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to take legal action against the service. Using pre-smartphone-era laws to accuse a CEO of crimes committed by third parties on the platform is a misleading move.