Telegram founder Dulov was allowed to leave France temporarily for Dubai?

Dulov left France with official approval

Pavel Durov, founder of messaging app Telegram, has been allowed to leave France temporarily, even though he is facing multiple charges for allegedly aiding organized crime, AFP reported.

"He left France this morning," a source familiar with the case said, adding that Dulov's trip was approved by French authorities.

Another source noted that the judge in charge of investigating the case allowed Dulov to leave France for "several weeks."

Another source further revealed that Dulov's destination was Dubai. However, a Telegram spokesperson declined to comment, saying only that the company would issue an official statement later.

After being arrested, he was forbidden to leave the country

Dulov, 40, was detained in August 2024 at Le Bourget airport near Paris and charged with a number of charges, mainly related to Telegram's content-management controversy, particularly its failure to effectively curb extremist and terrorist content.

After several days of questioning, he was eventually released on €5 million (about $5.6 million) bail, but was barred from leaving France at the time.

A change of attitude, suspected of making concessions to the French authorities

Dulov holds Russian, French and Emirati passports. He initially expressed strong dissatisfaction with his arrest and even publicly criticized the French authorities' decision. However, as the case unfolded, his attitude seemed to change and he began to act in response to the French side's demands.

In January 2025, sources revealed that Dulov said before a French investigating judge that he was "aware of the seriousness of all the allegations," a statement that was interpreted by the outside world as an attempt to reach a compromise with the French authorities.

At present, Dulov's legal situation is still unclear, and his movements after leaving France and his future response strategies will become the focus of attention from the outside world.

This article Telegram founder Dulov was allowed to leave France temporarily for Dubai? It first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.