Reports indicate that Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, has been granted permission by French authorities to exit the country for the second time since his detainment in August 2024. His departure is amidst ongoing investigations into alleged illegal activities facilitated via the messaging platform.
According to a report from the French newspaper, Le Monde, Durov is allowed to travel exclusively to Dubai, where Telegram’s headquarters is located, for a period of 14 days starting from July 10. Previously, in March, he was permitted to visit Dubai for a few weeks.
Apart from business-related reasons, Durov has personal motivations for his travel to Dubai. In an interview with the conservative French newspaper, Le Point, Durov stated, “I have just become a father and I’m missing the initial months of my son’s life. He doesn’t have a passport yet because I wasn’t there during his birth in Dubai. My teenage son, who’s currently in a boarding school in Dubai, recently broke his arm and lacks parental support.”
Durov was arrested by agents of France’s National Anti-Fraud Office on August 24, 2024, concerning a substantial cybercrime investigation. Allegations against the Telegram CEO include providing cryptography tools and services, circulating minor’s pornographic materials, and money laundering, as previously reported by The Block.
Telegram, a secure messaging platform, supports the Layer 1 blockchain The Open Network (TON). TON’s native token, Toncoin, currently trades at $2.93 with a trading volume of $128.4 million in the last 24 hours, as shown by The Block’s TON Price Page. The token holds a market capitalization of $7.2 billion.
During the summer of 2024, TON and Toncoin experienced a significant growth, primarily due to blockchain-based mini apps like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin on the messaging platform. The Block’s Data Dashboard reveals that the number of active TON addresses peaked at 1.44 million on October 2, 2024, and now stands at 130,000 as of June 17.
