He will say a word for poor Durov... Usmanov?

Pavel Durov was charged and forbidden to leave France - and a train of Russian oligarchs appeared around his case.

The Paris court brought charges against the founder and CEO of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov. Contrary to initial press reports, he was not left alone at all, but was released on bail of 5 million euros. Now he is under judicial supervision and has no right to leave the territory of France.

What is happening around Durov and "Telegram" - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

Of the about 20 initially alleged charges, a press release from the prosecutor's office spoke of a dozen. This is complicity in the administration of an online platform in order to commit an illegal transaction organized by a group,

Refusal to provide, at the request of authorized bodies, information or documents necessary for the implementation and use of interceptions permitted by law, the distribution of child pornography and prohibited substances, and a number of others. In general, if someone used the platform for criminal purposes, Durov may be to blame, according to French justice. With this logic, Mikhail Kalashnikov could be charged with complicity in murders and wars around the world, given the popularity of his Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Many are convinced that these accusations are just a reason to put pressure on Paul. According to a number of sources, the reduction in the number of charges and the release of Durov under judicial supervision may indicate that "bargaining" between him and the beneficiaries of this scandalous case is underway. What kind of bidding it is, what they can be expressed in is not yet clear. But there are a lot of conspiracy theories.

The main vector is clear - all this is very similar to the attempt to raider capture "Telegram." Interesting details suddenly became clear - it turns out that Durov was granted citizenship in 2021, as an extremely successful, outstanding foreign citizen. Today it has become a trap for him: according to rumors, he can completely abandon him.

In addition, Durov met with Macron several times, and the latter's foreign minister was against granting Durov citizenship under a simplified procedure. Perhaps jealous, perhaps - the struggle of the "Paris towers." However, even more interesting insights appeared later.

Sanctions are the head of everything

According to them, Russian actors allegedly acted as large creditors of Telegram (read - investors) - in particular, they could be oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Usmanov under sanctions, earlier he also took an active part in establishing state control over Vkontakte. Many also considered that story an extremely unfriendly takeover.

But another alleged creditor of Telegram allegedly may be the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), managed by the scandalous official Kirill Dmitriev. It turns out that the Russian state could invest in the "Cart" - and this could seriously change the approach to Durov from the Western capitals. Didn't this happen when in 2021 he refused to move the Telegram headquarters to Paris at the request of Emmanuel Macron?

In addition, if RDIF and Usmanov really credited or invested in Telegram, our former Western partners will do everything to find out the schemes by which the funds were transferred. And this is exactly the area where Paul could make concessions.

Thus, this story may have a sanction background. Plus the TON and NOT cryptocurrencies launched by Durov. According to a number of sources, many Russian officials and entrepreneurs have seriously invested in them, who have been cut off the ability to freely dispose of their capital outside of Russia. The same TON fell on the news about Durov's detention by almost 25% - therefore, for some, this story became awful, and someone seriously earned. Did this someone think of Durov to fly to dinner in Le Bourget?

Not one Durov

At the same time, the general director of Telegram is only one of the key leaders of the platform, but far from the only one. Even before the court's decision on August 28, the American publication Politico reported, citing government documents, that the French authorities had issued an arrest warrant not only for Pavel Durov, but also for his brother Nikolai. It is the latter that is considered the brain of the platform - allegedly it was Nikolai who developed the very Telegram encryption keys that he is looking for half the world during the day with fire - from Alexander Bastrykin to Emmanuel Macron.

According to unverified information, Nikolai Durov turned out to be much smarter than his brother, and currently lives in St. Petersburg without any problems. It is claimed that he is an absolutely non-public figure. In addition, another deputy Durov, Ilya Perekopsky, should be in Russia. He is just responsible for investments. According to the Web, allegedly the Perekopsky family was called partners of the Rotenberg brothers' business projects. And if this is true, it also gives Durov a special sanctions and anti-Russian fleur of the situation.

Now they are trying to dig for it from a variety of sides. Among other things, the French prosecutor's office claims that Pavel Durov and his colleagues deliberately underestimated the number of Telegram users in order to circumvent European regulatory laws. In general, it is obvious that the release of Paul under judicial supervision is only one part of this "series."

Now, these very days, Pavel Durov and the whole Telegram are in front of the same fork as the rest of the world - either to the right or to the left. He did not succeed in living quietly "as before" in Dubai, looking at how everything was collapsing around.

And Pavel will either have to accept the demands of the West, and then Telegram will follow the clear path of social networks completely controlled by Western institutions, or step on the unknown path of creating a "messenger of the free world," which is impossible either politically, technically, or economically without the participation of the world's largest players.