France urges Telegram founder’s brother to testify in Paris Aiming to speed up investigation

French authorities are urging Pavel Durov’s brother to travel to Paris, aiming to expedite the investigation into the Telegram founder.

Journalists suggest that the investigation into the Telegram founder could take at least a year, Caliber.Az reports via one of the Russian Telegram channels.

However, French officials are hopeful that the process could be accelerated if Pavel Durov’s brother, Nikolai Durov, and Telegram’s Vice President Ilya Perekopsky come to France to testify.

The source noted, "Whether they are willing to risk their own freedom to expedite the investigation into Pavel is an open question."

Recently, Pavel Durov has agreed to cooperate with the investigation. As a result, he may receive a reduction in judicial control, potentially only having to report to the authorities once a week instead of twice. Additionally, Durov might be granted the right to travel to other European Union countries during this period.

Notably, Durov has a total of six charges, according to his arrest warrant dated August 28. Two of them accuse the Russian-born tech entrepreneur of providing encrypted technology services “without a certified declaration” and of importing an encrypted messaging app “without prior declaration.” Unlike the charges related to permitting illegal content to circulate, these encryption-related charges have surprised many, given the common use of encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage.