Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ France is reportedly putting pressure on Pavel Durov's older brother Nikolai and Telegram vice-president Ilya Perekopsky to come to Paris and testify. This could speed up the resolution of the legal case against Pavel, but it also has risks for Nikolai and Perekopsky. ⬇️

2/ The Russian Telegram channel SHOT has interviewed "a representative of Pavel Durov's inner circle" about the pros and cons of Durov's agreement to cooperate with the investigation, such as a relaxation of Durov's judicial control that would allow him to travel within the EU.

3/ While the ongoing investigation could take at least a year, it could be resolved more speedily if Perekopsky and Nikolai, who has also reportedly been charged with storing and distributing child pornography, come to Paris to give testimony.

4/ According to SHOT, the investigation is focusing on the case of a French paedophile who allegedly "lured little girls into filming child pornography via Telegram, and raped one of them. Telegram did not respond to a request from the authorities to identify the perpetrator."

5/ Little seems to be known about Nikolai, who is 43 years old, graduated from St. Petersburg State University with a master's degree in mathematics and computer science, and developed a compression algorithm used in Telegram Messenger. He is described as a Telegram 'co-founder'.

6/ As SHOT points out, though, the legal jeopardy facing both Nikolai Durov and Ilya Perekopsky may make them reluctant to risk their freedom to speed up the investigation. /end

Sources:
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🔹 t.me/shot_shot/70795
t.me/shot_shot/71500