An hour of hearing, then the decision: the multimillionaire Pavel Durov, the owner of Telegram arrested in France, is now on conditional release but has been banned from leaving the country. This was announced by the Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, specifying that Durov was granted conditional release on a bail of five million euros and in exchange for the obligation to report twice a week to a police station and remain in France .

These are the latest developments in a story that has been enriched with details, mysteries and twists hour after hour: in fact, during the day it emerged that Durov was under investigation in France also for serious violence against one of his children . This shortly before he was granted conditional release.

The founder of Telegram was stopped last Saturday at Le Bourget airport in Paris and placed under 'precautionary detention', which the investigating judge then decided to end by ordering his transfer to court to answer to the 12 charges that were notified to him for failure to cooperate in investigations involving the Telegram app in criminal activities such as drug trafficking and the distribution of child pornography.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Durov met with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 and was asked to move the registered office of his social media to Paris. But he refused. Sources contacted by the American newspaper also said that in 2017, the Telegram boss was at the center of an espionage operation organized by French secret services in collaboration with those of the United Arab Emirates, where the app, called 'Purple Music', is based. An initiative born from concerns that arose based on the use of Telegram by Islamic militants, drug traffickers and cybercriminals.

According to information that has emerged so far , Durov - who holds Russian, French and UAE citizenship - is said to have maintained close relations with Russia as well, and Ukrainian sources have spoken of a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin .