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Telegram founder Pavel Durov given permission to leave France

Pavel Durov, founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, has left France and relocated to Dubai following approval from a French court.

On March 13, Durov reportedly received permission from the French court to depart the country, allowing him to travel to Dubai — a city known for its business-friendly environment and lack of extradition agreements with many nations — according to a Barron’s report citing unknown sources.

The exact terms of the court’s decision remain unclear, but Durov’s relocation has reignited debates about jurisdiction, privacy, and the responsibilities of tech leaders in combating illegal activities on their platforms.

Citing unnamed sources, AFP reported that “He (Durov) departed France this morning,” adding that he left with the authorities’ approval. Another source stated that he had been granted permission to leave France for “several weeks.”

The Telegram founder’s legal issues began on Aug. 24, when he was temporarily arrested at Le Bourget airport in Paris.

French prosecutors accused Durov of running a platform that allegedly enables illegal activities, according to charges announced on Aug. 28, 2024.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov given permission to leave France

Daily price chart of Toncoin. Source: TradingView

The crypto market reacted positively to the news of Durov departing from France. Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network (TON), spiked over 18% in market price, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

First report on Durov’s case in France since late 2024

The unconfirmed reports suggest that Durov has either settled his case in France or received permission to leave the country while the court case is ongoing.

Durov did not confirm his departure on social media by publishing time, while the French government officials are yet to issue a public statement, should the news be the case.

As previously reported, Durov was abruptly arrested by French authorities at Le Bourget airport in Paris in August 2024.

France’s Prosecutor’s Office, or Parquet de Paris, promptly issued a statement on preliminary charges to Durov on Aug. 28, accusing the Telegram founder of facilitating a platform that enables illicit transactions.

The prosecutors claimed that Durov was facing up to 10 years of prison time in addition to a 500,000 euros ($550,000) fine.

Durov was released from French custody on Aug. 28 after posting a $6 million bail. However, French authorities required him to remain in the country and mandated his court appearance only upon the completion of the investigation.

Vinnik’s release came just a month ago

Durov, now 40, is a citizen of Russia who also holds French and United Arab Emirates passports.

Shortly after his arrest in France, the Russian government publicly expressed the willingness to provide assistance in his case, highlighting the complexity of the matter due to Durov being not only a Russian citizen but also a French citizen.

If confirmed, Durov’s departure from France would mark another important event in the timeline of Russian programmers’ releases by governments worldwide.

UAE, France, Telegram, Pavel Durov

Alexander Vinnik exits from the plane in Moscow. Source: The Moscow Times

Alexander Vinnik, operator of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, finally returned to Russia just a month ago following long-running disputes over his custody and indictment since his arrest in 2017.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Vinnik’s prison release from the United States came as part of a US-Russia prisoner swap amid the countries seeking to mend diplomatic ties following Donald Trump’s presidential return in January.

Additional reporting by Helen Partz.

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‘Significant’ number of countries to provide troops to Ukraine peacekeeping force

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'Significant' number of countries to provide troops to Ukraine peacekeeping force

A “significant number” of countries will provide troops to a Ukraine peacekeeping force, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said.

On Saturday, leaders from 26 Western countries – plus two EU leaders and NATO’s secretary general – gathered for a virtual call of the “coalition of the willing”, hosted by Sir Keir after Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted a 30-day interim ceasefire agreement.

Politics latest: Farage welcomes defectors

The prime minister said military chiefs would meet this Thursday to discuss the next “operational phase” in protecting Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force – if a deal can be agreed with Russia.

Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir’s spokesman said they now expect “more than 30” countries to be involved in the coalition – but did not reveal which other countries had joined since Saturday.

He added: “The contribution capabilities will vary, but this will be a significant force, with a significant number of countries providing troops and a larger group contributing in other ways.”

The spokesman did not say which countries agreed to be part of a peacekeeping force, which Sir Keir and French leader Emmanuel Macron have confirmed the UK and France will be part of.

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What could a peacekeeping force actually do?

Could troops end up fighting?

Russia has repeatedly said it would not accept soldiers from NATO countries being stationed in Ukraine.

Asked if British troops fired on by Russia in Ukraine would be allowed to fire back, the spokesman said: “It’s worth remembering that Russia didn’t ask Ukraine when it deployed troops.

“We’ve got operational planning meetings that they are going through.”

The spokesman also said he did not know if the US – notably absent from the coalition – will be joining the military chiefs’ meeting on Thursday, but said the UK is having “regular discussions with our American counterparts”.

Both the UK and France are pushing for the US to provide security guarantees to prevent Russia from reneging on any peace deal with Ukraine.

Read more:
Who’s in the coalition of the willing?

Follow live updates from the Ukraine war

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Which nations will join peacekeeping efforts?

Trump and Putin to hold talks

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supports the truce brokered by the US in Saudi Arabia, but “lots of questions” remain over the proposals.

Donald Trump said on Sunday night he will speak to Mr Putin on Tuesday about ending the war and negotiators have already discussed “dividing up certain assets”, including land and power plants.

He said a “lot of work” had been done over the weekend on a peace deal.

The leaders involved in Saturday’s call were from: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa also joined.

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A Labour Party in Tory clothing? Why Starmer’s backbenchers are deeply uncomfortable

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A Labour Party in Tory clothing? Why Starmer's backbenchers are deeply uncomfortable

Since taking office nine months ago Sir Keir Starmer has weathered party rows about winter fuel payments, the two child benefit cap, WASPI women, airport expansion and cuts to international aid.

All of these decisions have been justified in the name of balancing the books – filling that notorious £22bn black hole, sticking to the fiscal rules, and in the pursuit of growth as the government’s number one priority.

But welfare reform feels like a far more existential row.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting argued on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the current system is “unsustainable”.

Ministers have been making the point for weeks that the health benefits bill for working-age people has ballooned by £20bn since the pandemic and is set to grow by another £18bn over the next five years, to £70bn.

But the detail of where those cuts could fall is proving highly divisive.

One proposal reportedly under consideration has been to freeze personal independence payments (PIPs) next year, rather than uprating them in line with inflation.

Charities have warned this would be a catastrophic real-terms cut to 3.6 million people.

Concerned left-wing backbenchers are calling on the government to tax the rich, not take from the most vulnerable.

The Sunday Times and Observer have now reported that Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has dropped the idea in response to the backlash.

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Streeting defends PM’s comments on ‘flabby’ public sector

Read more:
Streeting denies Labour ‘changing into Tories’
Planned PIP freeze set to be scrapped – reports
What cuts could be announced?

Wes Streeting denied reports of a cabinet row over the plan, insisting the final package of measures hasn’t yet been published and he and his cabinet colleagues haven’t seen it.

Not the final version perhaps – but given all backbench Labour MPs who were summoned to meetings with the Number 10 policy teams for briefings this week, that response is perhaps more than a little disingenuous.

In his interview with Sir Trevor Phillips, he went on to make the broader case for PIP reform – highlighting the thousand people who sign up to the benefit every day and arguing that the system needs to be “sustainable”, to “deliver for those that need it most” and “provide the right kind of support for the different types of need that exist”.

To me this signals the government are preparing to unveil a tighter set of PIP eligibility criteria, with a refocus on supporting those with the greatest needs.

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Liz Bates: Will there be a backlash over benefits?

Changes to incapacity benefit to better incentivise working – for those who can – are also clearly on the cards.

The health secretary has been hitting out at the “overdiagnosis” of mental health conditions, arguing that “going out to work is better for your mental and physical health, than being spent and being stuck at home”, and promising benefit reforms that will help support people back to work rather than “trapped in the benefits system”.

Turning Tory?

Starmer said this week the current welfare system couldn’t be defended on economic or moral grounds.

The Conservatives don’t disagree.

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Conservatives: Scrapping NHS England is ‘right thing’

Before the election, they proposed £12bn in cuts to the welfare bill, with a focus on getting people on long-term sickness back to work.

This morning, shadow education secretary Laura Trott claimed Labour denied that welfare cuts were needed during the election campaign and had wasted time in failing to include benefits reform in the King’s Speech.

“They’re coming to this chaotically, too late and without a plan,” she said.

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Notwithstanding the obvious critique that the Tories had 14 years to get a grip on the situation – what’s most striking here is that, yet again, the Labour government seems to be borrowing Conservative clothes.

When challenged by Sir Trevor this morning, Streeting denied they were turning Tory – claiming the case for welfare reform and supporting people into work is a Labour argument.

But, from increasing defence spending and cutting the aid budget to scrapping NHS England, there’s a definite pattern emerging.

If you didn’t know a Labour administration was in charge, you might have assumed these were the policies of a Conservative government.

It’s a strategy which makes many of his own backbenchers deeply uncomfortable.

But it’s doing a good job of neutering the Tory opposition.

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Sky News and Politico join forces again with new Politics At Sam And Anne’s podcast

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Sky News and Politico join forces again with new Politics At Sam And Anne's podcast

The new Sky News and Politico podcast Politics At Sam And Anne’s launches today, with Anne McElvoy replacing Jack Blanchard as Sam Coates’s co-host.

The political podcast will be available from 7.30am Monday to Thursday and will see Coates, Sky News’ deputy political editor, and McElvoy, Politico’s executive editor, unpack everything there is to know about the day ahead in Westminster.

Each instalment of the award-winning podcast will give audiences the latest insight into British politics in no more than 20 minutes.

The podcast originally launched in September 2023 with Jack Blanchard – Politico’s former UK editor, and now author of Politico’s DC Playbook.

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McElvoy’s arrival comes after a successful year for the podcast as it was recently recognised at the inaugural Political Podcast Awards and credited for its “must-know political insight”.

Coates, who won Presenter of the Year at the 2025 Political Podcast Awards, said: “Having Anne on board as my new full-time co-host is hugely exciting.

“With her phenomenal multi-decade background in domestic and international affairs, Anne is best in class at dissecting how events around the world are shaping Westminster.

“By combining Politico’s incredible depth and Sky’s ability to cut through the noise, we are well placed to continue providing unrivalled analysis and the latest scoops to our informed Westminster audience.”

McElvoy said: “Sam’s boundless energy, deep cross-party knowledge and a shared delight in informed conversation on the topics and characters shaping politics make even our early morning recordings fun.

“Our mission remains delivering the unmissable first podcast of the day for and about Westminster. We will explore the news moments that matter, offer our own insights and spontaneous exchanges and preview events that shape our political world.”

David Rhodes, executive chairman of Sky News, said the podcast was “the go-to source for people who work in Westminster and beyond”.

He said: “It provides an unparalleled service, giving a community of highly engaged listeners the full story, first each morning on what’s happening in politics.”

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