Telegram founder and technology entrepreneur Pavel Durov said he is back in the UAE while an investigation continues in France related to his messaging platform.
“As you may have heard, I’ve returned to Dubai after spending several months in France due to an investigation related to the activity of criminals on Telegram,” he posted to his channel on the messaging app. “The process is ongoing, but it feels great to be home."
Mr Durov is a Russian who has dual UAE-French citizenship.
Mr Durov was arrested in August shortly after landing at Le Bourget airport outside Paris and faced charges related to illegal activity and lack of content moderation that potentially fuelled nefarious behaviour on Telegram.
He was released from custody shortly after being arrested in France, but until now was not able to leave the country.
The Telegram platform is used by between 950 million and a billion people, according to the company. It made its debut in 2013, and boasted privacy and encryption features that helped it to gain popularity.
In Mr Durov’s home country of Russia, the platform also came under scrutiny for some of those privacy policies, prompting him to leave. Iraq's Telecoms Ministry temporarily blocked Telegram in 2023, citing national security fears.
The popular messaging app has since been operated out of Berlin, London, Singapore and most recently, Dubai.
"Most of the developers behind Telegram originally come from St Petersburg, the city famous for its unprecedented number of highly skilled engineers," reads Telegram's website. "We’re currently happy with Dubai, although are ready to relocate again if local regulations change."
Since coming under scrutiny and investigation in France, Telegram has amended and removed various privacy policies on its website.
“I want to thank the investigative judges for letting this happen, as well as my lawyers and team for their relentless efforts in demonstrating that, when it comes to moderation, co-operation and fighting crime, for years Telegram not only met but exceeded its legal obligations,” Mr Durov wrote on his channel.
