Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov said that French intelligence pressured Telegram into censoring political content, which he refused to do. Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov claimed that French intelligence services asked him to censor content related to the election in Moldova in 2024 in exchange for saying “good things” to the judge overseeing his trial, which he declined to do. Durov said the messaging platform initially took down some posts that “clearly” violated Telegram’s terms of service, but declined to remove any additional content for political reasons. Durov wrote in a Sunday Telegram post: Their only commonality was that they voiced political positions disliked by the French and Moldovan governments. We refused to act on this request,” he continued. Read more
Durov said French law enforcement officials are still "struggling" to find evidence of wrongdoing even one year on from his arrest in 2024. Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging application Telegram, provided an update regarding his ongoing case in France, and said the criminal investigation against him is “struggling” to find any evidence of wrongdoing. Durov said his arrest by French authorities in August 2024 was “unprecedented” and added that holding a tech executive accountable for the actions of independent users was “legally and logically absurd,” in a Telegram post on Sunday. Durov added: “One year after this strange arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight,” he continued, while also warning that the French government has done irreparable damage to France’s image as a free country. Read more
Revolut plans to invest over $1 billion in France, establish an EU headquarters in Paris and apply for a local banking license as it targets rapid expansion in its largest market. Revolut, a European neobank with crypto support, plans to invest more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in France and apply for a local banking license. According to a May 19 Fortune report, Revolut representatives announced the initiative during the Choose France business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The London-based neobank also plans to set up its new European Union-serving headquarters in Paris, promising to invest 1 billion euro and hire at least 200 people within three years. Revolut spokespeople also said that the firm is in the process of submitting an application to the French banking regulator Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority. According to an anonymous source cited by Fortune, the regulator has been pushing the neobank to get a license to improve supervision due to its popularity in ...
French law enforcement will offer crypto entrepreneurs and their families a police emergency line and conduct house visits to ensure their safety amid a recent spate of attacks. Crypto entrepreneurs and their families in France will receive enhanced security measures amid a recent rise in crypto-related kidnappings in the country, Politico reported. According to the May 16 report, the measures include priority access to police emergency lines, home security assessments, and safety briefings from French law enforcement to ensure best practices are being followed. France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau introduced the security measures as part of a broader effort to counter the recent wave of attacks. Read more
France’s interior minister will reportedly meet with crypto professionals to address rising security concerns after a failed kidnapping targeted the family of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat. The French interior minister reportedly plans to meet cryptocurrency professionals in the aftermath of a violent kidnapping attempt on the family of a crypto exchange executive in Paris. According to a May 14 France24 report, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has invited crypto professionals to meet him after a brazen attempt to kidnap the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium. ”I will assemble businesspeople working in cryptocurrencies, and we have a few of those in France, at the interior ministry to work with them on their security,” Retailleau reportedly told the Europe 1/CNews broadcaster. On May 13, three masked men attacked Noizat’s daughter while she was walking in Paris’ 11th district with a man and her son. The attackers tried to force Noizat’s daughter and ...