Kick executives face arrest warrant request in French probe into streamer’s death

French prosecutors are pursuing warrants for the arrest of Kick’s executives following the death of streamer Jean Pormanove during a live broadcast on the platform in August 2025.

Pormanove, real name Raphaël Graven, died in his sleep during an August 18 live stream on Kick following what French news outlets described as “ten days of torture” that was broadcast for over 200,000 followers.

The conditions Pormanove endured included “extreme” physical violence, sleep deprivation, and even ingesting “toxic products,” as well as psychological abuse and humiliation for the audience watching him on Kick.

Two streamers have been charged in relation to Pormanove’s death. Owen ‘Naruto’ Cenazendotti and Safine Hamadi, who often appeared on stream with Pormanove and were reportedly instrumental in his abuse, are being held on several criminal charges, including “assault, incitement to hatred, abuse of a vulnerable person, and recording and broadcasting violent images.”

Instagram

‘Naruto’ and Safine, pictured here with Pormanove in the boot of a car, have been criminally charged in the months following his death on Kick.

France expands streamer death probe to Kick execs

French authorities aren’t limiting their investigation to their own borders; on January 27, 2026, prosecutors requested arrest warrants for Kick’s Australia-based executives after they failed to respond to previous subpoenas for questioning regarding the case.

They hoped to question these execs about their “observations” of the situation and “the measures Kick may have taken to comply with regulations” in the months following Pormanove’s death.

That’s not all; prosecutors also believe Kick’s directors could have financially contributed to Cenazendotti and Hamadi’s Kick channel, saying they’re looking into the company’s financial records.

“Suspicious financial transactions have been identified, leading to suspicion the channel was directly funded by Kick and its directors,” they told French news outlets.

Instagram/Jean Pormanove

Naruto (left) and Jean Pormanove (right).

As reported by the French branch of the Huffington Post, Kick published a press release on January 28 claiming that it has not received any such summons to appear at court and denied claims of paying the charged streamers.

“To date, no formal summons, indictment, or judicial notification has been issued against Kick or any person associated with the company,” the platform said, saying it “has never directly paid the streamers in question for specific content.”

As a result of the situation, Kick faced an outright ban in France, but authorities blocked the motion after finding the punishment disproportionate to the matter at hand.