CRIME
Prosecutor imposes $5.5 million bail for Telegram founder Pavel Durov: What are the largest bails of all time?
While the large bail for Durov seems a lot, it is dwarfed by some huge bail postings from throughout US history.
French prosecutors have set a hefty bail of $5.5 million for Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, following his arrest and subsequent release in Paris.
Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged criminal activities on the Telegram platform. French authorities have accused Durov of complicity in managing an online platform that allows illicit transactions by organized groups.
After his release, Durov was ordered to pay the $5.5 million bail and report to a police station twice a week. He is also barred from leaving France pending further investigation.
This hefty sum has drawn attention to some of the largest bail amounts in history, of which this is nowhere near.
The largest bails in US history
Raj Rajaratnam: The hedge fund manager faced a $100 million bail in 2009 for insider trading charges.
Kening Ma: In 2015, this California real estate mogul faced a $150 million bail for a murder-for-hire plot.
Michael Milken: The former junk bond king was granted a $700 million bail in 1989 for securities fraud charges.
Kim Freeman: Her huge $1 billion bail was accepted by the judge after the prosecution argued that Freeman posed a significant flight risk due to her extensive connections in Asia and throughout the United States
Robert Durst: Taking top spot is Durst with an eye-watering, and wallet-emptying, $3 billion bail. Durst was arrested for the murder of his neighbor Morris Black in Galveston, Texas. He posted a $300,000 bail and then fled, leading to a bond jumping charge. After Durst’s acquittal for Black’s murder in 2003, the trial judge, State District Judge Susan Criss, set his bail at an unprecedented $1 billion for the bond jumping charge.