Belgian federal prosecutor's office conducts investigation into Telegram app

The Belgian federal public prosecutor's office is collaborating with the French judiciary to conduct an investigation into the controversial Telegram messaging app, reported Flemish newspaper De Standaard. Because there is hardly any moderation on the social media platform, criminals eagerly use it.

The French judiciary had earlier indicted 39-year-old Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov. France accused the billionaire of not taking the necessary actions to stop Telegram - with about 950 million users - from spreading criminal and punishable messages. He was arrested with his girlfriend at Le Bourget airport in Paris at the end of August.

That the Belgian judiciary is also targeting Telegram was not publicly known until now. But according to De Standaard, an investigation at the federal prosecutor's office has been ongoing since 2020.

That the news about the Belgian investigation is now becoming public is because the investigation is currently entering a new phase with the creation of a “joint investigation team” or JIT with the French judiciary. With such a team, both countries directly share the findings from their investigations and can carry out joint actions. Investigators can also more easily cooperate in operations on foreign territory.

For the Belgian federal public prosecutor, this JIT comes not a moment too soon. “In just about every investigation into, say, arms trafficking, we notice that the suspects use Telegram,” said spokesman Eric Vandersypt. “We see it constantly popping up in our case files.”

^{Icon of messaging app Telegram on a smartphone screen © BELGA PHOTO Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP}