Since his indictment in August 2024, Pavel Durov's judicial control prohibited him from leaving the territory.
Starting from July 10, he will be able to return episodically to Dubai, but not elsewhere. French justice eased the judicial control of Telegram founder Pavel Durov this Thursday, allowing him to go there for "maximum periods of 14 consecutive days," a judicial source confirmed on Thursday, corroborating information from Le Monde.
Pavel Durov, who had only been able to travel abroad episodically since his indictment in late August for complicity in criminal activity, had appealed to the investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal to modify his prohibition on leaving the territory, which was part of his judicial control.
This Thursday, the investigating chamber authorized Pavel Durov, starting from July 10, to "leave the metropolitan national territory for periods of up to 14 consecutive days, provided he informs the investigating judge at least one week in advance, and only to go to Dubai, excluding any other destination," according to the same source.
Obligations "unfounded and totally disproportionate"
According to the same source, he will have his identity documents and passport returned to him on that date, while the other obligations of his judicial control, notably a heavy surety, remain in place. Solicited, his lawyers Me Guillaume Martine and Robin Binsard did not comment to AFP.
"The obligations of Pavel Durov's judicial control had become unfounded and totally disproportionate, much like the accusations made by the prosecutor," said Me David-Olivier Kaminski, another of his lawyers.
Speaking to Le Parisien, Telegram stated that it "welcomes the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal allowing Mr. Durov to travel regularly to the United Arab Emirates without the need for judicial authorization."
"We are confident that the obligation to return to France every 15 days will also be lifted later in the year, allowing Mr. Durov to fully devote himself to Telegram and its users," added Telegram.
A son who has just been born
After a spectacular arrest upon his disembarkation from the plane, the 40-year-old Russian entrepreneur, naturalized French in 2021, was indicted in August 2024 for a litany of offenses related to organized crime, with French justice accusing him broadly of not acting against the dissemination of criminal content on his messaging service.
Pavel Durov had been authorized in March to go to Dubai, the headquarters of his company, but had been denied more recent trips to the United States or Norway. In an interview with Le Point broadcast on Wednesday evening, he reiterated that "nothing has ever been proven that shows I am, even for a second, guilty of anything."
He referred to his prohibition on leaving the territory as a "punishment" that affected him "greatly," mentioning the "very serious health problems" of his parents, his last "son who has just been born," of whom he is missing "the first months of life," as well as "a teenage son in a boarding school in Dubai."
