Day: September 1, 2024

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, would have maintained ties with French counterintelligence. He was detained on August 24 but released on bail on August 29.

By Anthony Marcus, correspondent for Eurasia Business News, on August 31, 2024. Article n°1201.

During interrogation in Paris with French police, Pavel Durov said that he maintained ties with French counterintelligence officers and met with them in Dubai, revealed local newspapers. Telegram refused to cooperate with the French authorities, but Durov stressed that it complies with EU laws.

The founder of the Telegram messenger, Pavel Durov, during interrogation in Paris, said that he had maintained ties with representatives of the General Directorate of Internal Security of France (DGSI, counterintelligence), in particular, he met with them in Dubai, the Libération newspaper writes, citing a source.

According to the French newspaper, the Russian-French tech magnate made it clear that “it would be inappropriate for him to disclose information constituting a military secret”. What was discussed, the newspaper did not specify.

The source also said that Durov, in his own words, “as part of the fight against terrorism, has opened an official channel of communication with the DGSI with a hotline and a special email address.“

The exchange of information through these channels made it possible to prevent several terrorist attacks, the source told Liberation.

According to the French newspaper, after his arrest in Paris on August 24 when his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport near Paris, Pavel Durov expressed his readiness to cooperate with French law enforcement agencies and provided them with his mobile phone with an access code to it.

An employee of the French Ministry of Justice told Politico that Telegram refused to cooperate specifically with the French authorities, which caused disappointment in Paris.

Refusal to cooperate with the French authorities is among the charges brought against Pavel Durov in France after his detention. There are six of them in total. Only on charges of complicity in the administration of an online platform for making illegal transactions, the tech magnate faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of € 500,000.

Durov was detained on the evening of August 24 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport, where he flew from Baku on a private jet. Four days later, he was released under judicial supervision and after payment of a € 5 million bail.

In a statement published after Pavel Durov’s detention, Telegram said that the messenger complies with EU laws, and its moderation “meets industry standards and is constantly improving.” The position of the French authorities that the platform or its owner is responsible for abuses in the messenger was called absurd by Telegram.

The Kremlin said it was ready to help Durov, since he still has a Russian passport along with the French one. Consular access to the founder of Telegram was also requested by the UAE, of which he is also a citizen. In addition, Pavel Durov has citizenship of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Arrested at the airport Le Bourget on August 24, at 08:00 PM, the French-Russian businessman himself does not admit guilt, and the French President Emmanuel Macron stated that there is no politics in this investigation.

Pavel Durov’s net worth is currently estimated at $15.5 billion as of August 2024. This makes him the 150th wealthiest person in the world.

The EU authorities are also investigating, who believe that Telegram could underestimate the number of users in the EU in order not to comply with the norms for large IT companies, the Financial Times reports. In its reports, Telegram indicated that the messenger has less than 45 million users in the European Union. 

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“The director of Telegram was detained as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, apparently meaning that this case is not a personal case agaisnt Mr. Pavel Durov, but a large investigation of various crimes committed by users of the Telegram messenger.

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© Copyright 2024 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1201.

During his interrogation in Paris, the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, he allegedly claimed to be in contact with officials from the French Directorate General for Internal Security (DGSI), the Paris-based counter-espionage agency, the French daily newspaper “Liberation” reported, citing sources close to the investigation.

Durov allegedly explained that he had “opened an official communication channel” with the DGSI, as part of operations to counter terrorist activities. Specifically, he had a telephone line and an email address at his disposal from the agency. According to Liberation sources, these communication channels prevented some terrorist attacks. Durov also claimed to have met with officials of the DGSI in Dubai, where he resides.

Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport in Paris on August 24th. According to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, he was arrested for lack of moderation on his instant messaging app, as well as for failing to collaborate in the fight against drug trafficking and the dissemination of child pornography content. The arrest took place “as part of a judicial investigation opened on July 8”, explained the Prosecutor’s Office.

According to the first press release issued by the Paris Prosecutor’s Office on August 26, Durov faces 12 charges, six of which have actually been brought against him at the moment. The first concerns the crime of aiding and abetting in relation to the “operation of an online platform to enable an illegal transaction by an organised gang”. The second refers to the “refusal to communicate or provide, at the request of the authorised authorities, the information and documents necessary to carry out and use the wiretaps authorised by law”. The third and fourth charges concern complicity in relation to the “possession of an image of a minor of a child pornography nature” and the “distribution, offering or organised making available of a pornographic image of a minor”. The fifth refers to drug trafficking, while the sixth concerns the transfer “without legitimate reason of equipment, tools, programs or data designed or adapted to compromise or access the functioning of an automatic data processing system”.

The seventh crime of which the founder of Telegram is accused concerns his alleged complicity in an “organized fraud”, while the eighth would see him guilty of “criminal association aimed at committing a crime or an offense punishable by five years in prison ”. The ninth charge concerns the “laundering” of proceeds deriving from crimes committed “by an organized gang”, while the tenth is related to the “provision of cryptology services to guarantee confidentiality without a declaration of conformity”. The last two charges brought by the French judicial authorities against Durov concern the “supply” and “importation” of a “cryptographic instrument that does not exclusively provide authentication or integrity checking functions without prior declaration”.

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The FBI revealed new details from the investigation into the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in a Wednesday call with media, including that the shooter engaged in “detailed attack planning” well in advance of the rally. But more than six weeks after the attack, investigators still haven’t uncovered a motive.

The FBI has done an extensive analysis of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks‘ online search history and activity, according to Kevin Rojek, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office who also spoke on the call. That has provided “valuable insight into his mindset, but not a definitive motive,” Rojek said.

Investigators found a search from Crooks’ account in late September of 2023 of Trump’s campaign schedule and upcoming Pennsylvania appearances, according to Rojek.

But Trump doesn’t appear to have been the only potential target.

Rojek said between April and July of 2024, Crooks searched campaign events for both Trump and President Joe Biden, including events that were scheduled to happen in western Pennsylvania. The bureau uncovered searches on July 5 for, “When is the DNC convention,” and “When is the RNC in 2024,” apparent references to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

In the 30 days before the attack, Crooks conducted more than 60 searches related to either Biden or Trump, Rojek said.

‘Detonating cord,’ ‘blasting cap,’ ‘how to make a bomb’: shooter searches since 2019

Crooks’ search history suggests he may have been considering a violent attack for several years.

Rojek said as early as September 2019, and continuing into the summer of 2024, Crooks conducted multiple searches about explosive devices, including “detonating cord,” “blasting cap,” “how to make a bomb from fertilizer,” and “how do remote detonators work.” Crooks also searched for ammonium nitrate, nitromethane, and other materials consistent with manufacturing explosive devices.

Law enforcement found two explosive devices in Crooks’ car.

FBI director Christopher Wray testified a couple of weeks after the shooting that the devices had receivers to enable remote detonation and law enforcement found a transmitter on the roof with Crooks. However, he also said investigators didn’t believe detonation would have worked because the receivers were switched off.

Rojek said Wednesday that components Crooks used to make those devices were legal to buy and readily available online.

‘No definitive ideology associated with our subject, either left-leaning or right-leaning’

Federal investigators have been working to learn who Crooks was and why he tried to kill Trump ever since the Republican presidential nominee took a bullet to the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Crooks also killed rally attendee and father of two Corey Comperatore, while critically wounding two others.

Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, said on the call that the FBI not only hasn’t identified a motive but also hasn’t uncovered any co-conspirators or associates of Crooks who had advance knowledge of the attack.

“And I want to be clear, we have not seen any indication to suggest Crooks was directed by a foreign entity to conduct the attack,” Wells added.

Rojek said investigators aren’t even clear whether Crooks had partisan political views. “We’ve seen no definitive ideology associated with our subject, either left-leaning or right-leaning. It’s really been a mixture and something that we’re still attempting to analyze and draw conclusions on.”

Antisemitic posts by the shooter?

Rojek also addressed testimony FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate gave before Congress on July 30 when he said investigators had found “the first real indication” of extremist views and politically violent communications through a social media account they were working to verify belonged to Crooks.

Abbate mentioned more than 700 comments between 2019 and 2020, including antisemitic and anti-immigration messages, in particular.

The FBI’s assessment “is that those statements were associated with accounts associated with the subject, and we continue to work to determine if they were, in fact, attributed to the subject himself,” Rojek said.

‘Where will Trump speak from?’: preparations before attack

On July 4, just nine days before the attack, Crooks searched for details on the Butler campaign event, which took place within easy driving distance of his home. Two days later, Crooks showed an interest in a previous political assassination, searching for how far Lee Harvey Oswald was from John F. Kennedy when Oswald shot him.

Rojek described that search, which has been previously reported, on Wednesday.

He also clarified that Crooks looked into specific details about the set-up for the campaign rally. Crooks entered online searches on July 6 for, “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show,” “Butler Farm Show podium,” and “Butler Farm Show photos.” Rojek said those were exact quotes, but didn’t clarify what the spelling, punctuation, or capitalization looked like.

Crooks also searched for “ballistic calculator” on July 9 and looked up the weather in Butler on July 10, Rojek said.

Family ‘extremely cooperative,’ have received Crooks’ body

Rojek clarified that the FBI remains in contact with Crooks’ family members, who he said have been “extremely cooperative.”

Law enforcement released Crooks’ body to them after Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police both agreed with the Butler County Coroner’s Office’s decision to release the remains.

“I want to stress that it is not standard procedure or practice for the FBI or any law enforcement agency to request that the coroner or medical examiner maintain indefinite custody of a deceased subject’s body once the investigative purposes of our agency and our partner agencies are completed,” he said.

Autopsy and toxicology reports indicated Crooks wasn’t on drugs or alcohol when he died, and that he was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, Rojek said. Crooks was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m. EDT on July 13.

Encrypted email accounts accessed, Trump briefed on investigation

Rojek said Crooks had overseas encrypted email accounts, but the level of encryption wasn’t more sophisticated than any standard, widely used email service that’s internet-based. He said the FBI has successfully accessed those accounts and analyzed their contents, although it is continuing to “identify and exploit” Crooks’ accounts more broadly.

At a July congressional hearing, FBI and Secret Service officials said law enforcement identified Crooks as suspicious well before the attack and shared a photograph of him nearly an hour before he opened fire at about 6:11 p.m. EDT. A local officer radioed seeing Crooks on the roof from which he opened fire with “a long gun” about 30 seconds in advance.

Investigators previously revealed Crooks used an ‘AR-style 556’ rifle in the attack. That weapon was and is operational, Rojek said Wednesday. He confirmed the FBI successfully test-fired it and also matched the casings found on the roof to the rifle.

During a standard victim interview with Trump, the FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police provided the Republican presidential nominee “with an in-depth briefing on the investigation” and answered his questions, Rojek said.

Since the assassination attempt, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under intense pressure over the failure to protect Trump at the campaign event. Members of Congress and the wider public have continued to press the service about how Crooks was able to obtain a line of fire on Trump.

Investigators have conducted nearly 1,000 interviews in total, in addition to issuing dozens of subpoenas and analyzing hundreds of hours of video footage, according to Rojek.