Source: AFP
The arrest and indictment by France of Telegram founder Pavel Durov has shone a spotlight on the international connections of a man with at least four passports and high-level contacts, but has drawn attention from security services around the world.
Born in 1984 under the USSR to a family of academics in Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, Durov spent his childhood in Italy before his family returned to Russia when the Soviet Union fell.
He stopped living in Russia a decade ago as he set up the Telegram messenger, taking up citizenship of the Caribbean archipelago of St Kitts and Nevis as he looked for a base.
Based on his company eventually in Dubai, he was granted Emirati citizenship in 2021 and in the same year, through a special procedure shrouded in secrecy, French citizenship.
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Here AFP examines Durov’s key relationships with world powers.
Russia
Durov says he left Russia in 2014, accusing Kremlin allies of seizing ownership of his first social network, the Russian-language VKontakte, after he refused to hand over data on users involved in 2011-2012 protests in Russia and then 2013 protests -2014 in Russia. Ukraine.
He was considered by many at the time as a dissident. Russian authorities have tried unsuccessfully to block Telegram in recent years, and the app is seen as a key tool for the military in its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to right-wing US talk show host Tucker Carlson in an April interview, Durov said only people with “very limited knowledge of where Telegram came from” could claim it was an instrument of the Russian government.
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But Moscow has by no means disowned Durov during his current legal troubles, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warning France not to turn the case into a “political prosecution”.
According to the Vazhnye Istorii news website, citing leaked information about the border, his departure from Russia was nothing more than an abrupt exile and he visited the country more than 50 times between 2015 and 2021.
France
The media have repeatedly noted that Durov’s reception when he was arrested upon arrival at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on Saturday was in stark contrast to previous visits.
Le Monde newspaper reported on Wednesday that Durov had met with President Emmanuel Macron on several occasions before receiving French citizenship in 2021, through a special process reserved for those deemed to have made a special contribution to France.
A source close to the case, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Thursday that after his arrest, Durov asked to brief French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel, chairman and founder of mobile phone company Iliad and considered close to Macron. arrest.
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Durov said his name on his French passport is written as Paul du Rove, a humorous French translation. His personal Telegram channel is called “Du Rove’s Channel”.
Another source close to the investigation said Durov had emphasized his ties to the French head of state during questioning.
Both Pavel Durov and his older brother Nikolai, a lower-profile figure believed to be the mathematical mastermind behind Telegram, have been wanted by France since March this year.
United Arab Emirates
Durov says he chose to base Telegram in Dubai after finding that the UAE offers a much better business climate than European cities, allowing the company to hire the best people, enjoy a tax-efficient status and the city’s infrastructure.
“We tried a lot of places. First we went to Berlin … We tried London, Singapore. San Francisco. You name it — we’ve been everywhere,” Durov told Carlson.
“The bureaucratic hurdles were very difficult to overcome,” while the UAE “turned out to be a great place,” he said, praising the state as “a neutral place … not geopolitically aligned.”
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The United States
There is no indication that Durov ever sought American citizenship, but his interview with Carlson yielded some interesting — if unconfirmed — information about his relationship with the country.
He said at one point he thought San Francisco “would be the place for us,” but then he was attacked by “three big guys” who tried to grab his phone while he was tweeting that he was meeting the then head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey.
Durov claimed he had gotten the best of the argument. “There was a brief scuffle and some blood.”
He also said that US security agencies paid him “very close attention” whenever he visited, complaining that two FBI agents always met him at the airport to ask him questions.
Source: AFP
