According to people familiar with the case, the businessman left the country ”for a few weeks” on the morning of March 15 with the judge's permission. It is also reported that he went to Dubai. A few days earlier, authorities had allegedly agreed to make some changes to the conditions of Durov's detention and supervision at his request. The Telegram founder is a citizen of Russia, France, the UAE and St. Kitts and Nevis. According to French journalist Cyril Amursky, Durov faceв up to 20 years in prison. Detention of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov The businessman was detained at Le Bourget airport on the evening of August 24, 2024. He was charged with, among other things, complicity in the distribution of drugs and child pornography, as well as refusing to provide information requested by authorized authorities. Billionaire Elon Musk called the news of the Telegram founder's detention a ”compelling advertisement” for the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Among other things, it guarantees freedom of speech and press. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin criticized Durov's detention and worried about the ”future of software freedom” in Europe. Journalist Tucker Carlson called Durov's detention a ”living warning” for platform owners who refuse to censor the truth at the request of governments. ”Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his Telegram. But in the end it wasn't Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to enjoy free speech. It was a Western country, an ally of [U.S. President Joe] Biden's administration and a NATO enthusiast, who locked him up,” he wrote. According to Carlson, clouds are quickly gathering over the once free world. Amid the news, Toncoin (TON) quotes collapsed below the $6 mark. The asset lost 13.2% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko . Recall, Durov was first included in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking. He took 279th place out of 500 with a fortune of $9.15 billion. In April, the billionaire told Carlson that he personally owns Telegram and keeps part of his savings in bitcoins.
