Pavel Durov says French investigation was ‘surprising’

Pavel Durov, in a Telegram message, breaks his silence about his arrest in France

share

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov spoke out publicly for the first time since his arrest.

The CEO, who was arrested in Paris last week, claimed in a Telegram message to his channel that he was interviewed for four days after arriving in France. 

“I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram, because the French authorities didn’t receive responses from Telegram,” Durov said. 

He said that prior to the interrogation, he hadn’t received prior warning from the authorities about the inquiries, and neither had Telegram’s official point of contact in the European Union for such requests. 

Read more: Telegram CEO indicted in France

“As a French citizen, I was a frequent guest at the French consulate in Dubai. A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France,” Durov claimed.

Durov was later indicted in France. He’s since been ordered to stay in France, though he was released from police custody. In the Thursday message, Durov didn’t specify whether he was still in France.

The charges against Durov include complicity in selling and offering narcotic substances and distributing child pornography. The French authorities previously claimed that Durov didn’t aid investigations. 

Read more: Unpacking crypto’s Telegram situationship

Per last week’s press release from French authorities,  an official investigation was opened in early July. An earlier Politico report also claimed that the authorities have sought an arrest warrant for Durov’s brother, Nikolai Durov, as well. 

“Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country. We’ve done it many times. When Russia demanded we hand over “encryption keys” to enable surveillance, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Russia,” he further explained. 

“When Iran demanded we block channels of peaceful protesters, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Iran. We are prepared to leave markets that aren’t compatible with our principles, because we are not doing this for money. We are driven by the intention to bring good and defend the basic rights of people, particularly in places where these rights are violated,” Durov said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Bluefin possibly stands at an inflection point. The token is near an all-time low yet the protocol’s spot volume market share and derivatives exchange usage have been increasing month over month since its November launch. Given its current market position and the upcoming upgrades (for both Bluefin and SUI), there may be upside potential before the increased supply growth in December. However, strong opposition from existing competitors (like Cetus and Suilend), as well as new entrants (like Aftermath), pose key challenges to Bluefin’s medium-term success.

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens