France Bans Pavel Durov from Traveling to the U.S.

French authorities have denied Pavel Durov’s request to travel to the United States for meetings with investment funds, Politico reports, citing the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The Telegram founder has been under strict judicial supervision since September 2024, following six charges related to the platform’s activities.

Durov is prohibited from leaving France without official permission, which is why his planned trip to the U.S. was deemed “unjustified.” Since his arrest, he has only been allowed to leave France once — visiting Dubai from March 15 to April 7.

He was later invited to speak at the Freedom Forum in Norway, as Durov shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account:

We believe that your unwavering commitment to freedom of speech through the creation of VKontakte in defiance of authoritarian demands, and through your bold leadership of Telegram, will educate and inspire our participants — activists, policymakers, and technologists from around the world — who are involved in the ongoing struggle to advance human rights and liberal democracy around the world.

Durov thanked forum founder Thor Halvorssen for the invitation and added: “I'm doing my best to join.” It remains unclear whether he will be granted permission to attend the event.

Meanwhile, Durov has become increasingly critical of the French government. On May 18, he alleged that French military intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner asked him to “silence conservative voices in Romania” — allegedly to influence the country’s presidential election.