Media: Indian Foreign Ministry launches investigation into Telegram after Pavel Durov’s arrest

What’s new? Indian authorities have launched an investigation into messenger Telegram after its founder Pavel Durov was detained in France on August 24. According to local media, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Information Technology (MEITy) are probing the platform for illegal activities such as extortion and gambling. One possible outcome of the investigation could be the banning of Telegram in the country.

Material by Times of India

What else is known? India, according to experts, accounts for the largest share of users of the application, about 104 million. In general, the audience of the messenger has approached the mark of 1 billion.

In social networks, some users from India have already reported that they can not access the Telegram Wallet app. When opened, a bar is shown saying that the region is not supported by the app.

Officials told Moneycontrol reporters that P2P communications on Telegram are being investigated by the Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) together with MeitY specialists. At the same time, the alleged violations are not related to information technology regulations. According to the official, Telegram complies with IT regulations, which require platforms to appoint a compliance officer and publish monthly reports.

However, the investigation may be complicated by the fact that Telegram has no representative office in India.

This is not the first time Telegram has come under scrutiny in India. In October, MeitY directed Telegram and several other social networks to remove child sexual abuse content from their platforms.

On May 23, the government, based on MHA’s recommendations, blocked several encrypted messaging platforms such as Briar, Element, Germany’s Crypviser, Britain’s Enigma, Switzerland’s SafeSwiss and AWS-owned Wickr me. MeitY also considered blocking encrypted Proton Mail, which was used to send false bomb threats to schools, shopping centers, and airports.

Pavel Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport on August 24 upon arrival from Azerbaijan, and his arrest was extended until August 28. It later became known that Durov was being questioned as part of an investigation against an unnamed person over suspected cyber crimes such as fraud, illegal transactions within organized criminal activity, possession of child pornography, drug trafficking, and hacking software.

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Many prominent members of the crypto industry have come out in defense of Durov, saying he is being prosecuted for ensuring free speech on Telegram. TRON blockchain founder Justin Sun suggested launching an organization to raise funds for the entrepreneur’s lawyers and personally donating $1 million to it.