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Russian authorities have never had any claims against Durov — Putin

The Russian president noted that "all platforms of this kind have such a flaw," but, in his opinion the French authorities’ actions are unclear and selective

VLADIVOSTOK, September 5. /TASS/. The Russian authorities have never had any claims against Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messenger, unlike the authorities of other countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"We have had no claims against him. I know that many countries did have some objections, because this platform is used in a certain way by some people, some groups that can cause damage with their activities to the economy or security of the state," he said.

Putin noted that "all platforms of this kind have such a flaw," but, in his opinion the French authorities’ actions are unclear and selective.

On August 24, Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport in Paris. On August 28 evening, his preliminary detention ended and the entrepreneur was taken to court, where a judicial investigator charged him with six counts, including complicity in the administration of a network platform to enable illegal transactions as part of a criminal group. Such an offense, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office, might be punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros. The investigating judge placed Durov under judicial supervision with an obligation to post a bail of 5 million euros. He was also ordered to report to the police twice a week and prohibited from leaving France.

The Eastern Economic Forum is running in Vladivostok on September 3-6 on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University. The main theme of the EEF in 2024 is The Far East 2030. Combining Strengths to Create New Potential. The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the forum’s general media partner.

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