Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, a tech billionaire who left his native Russia several years ago after clashing with the Kremlin over freedom of speech, was arrested at a Paris airport on Saturday.
French authorities had issued the search warrant as part of an investigation into the 39-year-old tech mogul over allegations that encrypted messaging app Telegram failed to prevent organized crime, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and terrorist propaganda from infiltrating his platform.
The search warrant for Durov, who has a net worth of $15.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine, was only valid once he set foot on French soil.
He was traveling with his “girlfriend,” Yulia Vavilova.
Durov reportedly arrived in France accompanied by a blonde female “code coach,” believed to be Yulia Vavilova, who had accompanied him on a tour of Central Asia before his arrest.
X’s users are guessing The 24-year-old cryptocurrency and finance streamer from Dubai, who may be Durov’s girlfriend, claims to have posted photos and locations of all of Durov’s actions during the trip, but stopped doing so after he was arrested.
“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently to Europe,” Telegram said in a post on Sunday. “It is absurd to claim that the platform or its owners are responsible for the misuse of its platform.”
What we know about his arrest
The Russian embassy in France said it “immediately asked the French authorities for an explanation and demanded that his rights be protected and that he be given access to the consulate.” In a Telegram post.
“The arrest on French territory of the president of Telegram was carried out as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Monday. “This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”
Durov’s arrest came shortly after former President Donald Trump promoted his family’s soon-to-be-launched cryptocurrency platform in a Truth Social post linked to his Telegram channel.
What is Telegram?
Durov calls it Telegram. A vital communication tool for citizens and government officials during the Russia-Ukraine war – Neutral platform.
Ukrainian government officials used the messaging app to send out air raid warnings and distribute maps of local bomb shelters, and citizens used the site to document the horrors of war firsthand.
Telegram exists as one of the last news links between Russia and Ukraine, and the app is widely used as an organizing tool by pro-democracy groups around the world.
But Telegram It has been accused of being used by extremist groups Islamic State, white supremacists, COVID-19, QAnon conspiracy theorists, etc.
in An interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker CarlsonDurov stressed the importance of freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and free markets.
“Pavel Durov left Russia due to the government’s attempts to control his social media company Telegram,” Karlsson said in a post on X after Durov’s arrest.
“But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing his people free speech. It was Western countries, allies of the Biden administration and committed NATO members, who locked him up.”
Karlsson said Durov’s arrest should serve as a “warning” to owners of social media platforms who refuse to censor the truth.
Durov co-founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai, a programmer and mathematician.
Seven years ago, in 2006, Durov founded Russia’s largest social network, VKontakte (VK), known as Russia’s version of Facebook, with around 85 million users. According to Statista.
VK is He was blacklisted by the Russian government in 2013.The ban, which a state spokesman called a “mistake,” was lifted a few hours later.
The blacklisting occurred overnight amid rising tensions between the Kremlin and Durov.
The Federal Security Service, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, ordered Durov to shut down the activist-run VK group, which was used to organize protests against 2011 parliamentary elections won by Putin’s United Russia party.
A strong supporter of freedom of speech, Durov refused to shut down groups, including the protest group led by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
A month before his blacklisting, Durov was reportedly involved in a traffic accident in which a police officer was slightly injured. The tech company CEO refused to testify as a witness and fled the country. According to a source who knows him.
Around the same time, Kremlin-linked private equity firm buys 48% of VK They forced out the founding partners who had supported Durov.
Durov decided to live out his chosen life in exile. Acquired citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis After donating $250,000 to the island’s sugar industry.
The Caribbean islands were colonized by Britain and France and became self-governing nations associated with Britain in 1967.
Durov moved himself and Telegram’s headquarters to Dubai in 2017.
He received French citizenship in 2021.
