France charges Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, releases him on €5M bail – POLITICO

Russian-born tech tycoon Durov was detained at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on Saturday night, as part of a sprawling inquiry into criminal activity on the messaging platform.

Telegram, a messaging app based in Dubai, has long been scrutinized over accusations of rampant fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism promotion and cyber-bullying on the platform.

After Durov’s arrest, Telegram pushed back strongly against any suggestion of wrongdoing in an online statement Sunday, saying it abides by all EU laws and that Durov “has nothing to hide.”

This story is being updated.