Pavel Durov, the 39-year-old founder and CEO of Telegram, has been arrested at an airport in France, according to a private news outlet. Durov was detained upon arrival at Le Bourget Airport, located north of Paris, after his private jet landed there.
He is a Russian-born French and Emirati entrepreneur with a net worth of $11.5 billion. His fortune is largely driven by his ownership of Telegram. As of 25 August 2024, Durov was the 120th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $15.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Pavel Durov was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, but spent most of his childhood in Turin, Italy, where his father was employed. In 2006, he graduated from the Philology Department of the Saint Petersburg State University, where he received a first-class degree.
Work in tech
He launched popular social media website VK in September of 2006 with his former classmate Vyacheslav Mirilashvili and brother Nikolai Valeryevich Durov. The website was made for the Russian market and reached a valuation of $3 billion by 2008.
Problems with the Russian government
In 2011, Pavel Durov became involved in a standoff with the police in Saint Petersburg when the Russian government demanded that he remove the pages of opposition politicians following the Duma election. Instead of complying, Durov posted a picture of a dog wearing a hoodie with its tongue out. Remarkably, the police left after an hour when he refused to answer the door.
In 2012, Durov made headlines again when he publicly posted a photo of himself giving the middle finger, declaring it as his official response to the Mail.ru Group’s attempts to buy his company, VK. By December 2013, Durov decided to sell his 12% stake in VK to Ivan Tavrin. At that time, Mail.ru Group already owned 40% of the shares, and 48% were held by United Capital Partners. Tavrin later resold the shares to Mail.ru Group.
On April 16, 2014, Pavel Durov publicly refused to comply with demands from Russia’s security agencies to hand over the personal data of Ukrainian protesters and to block the VK page of Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition leader. Instead of following the orders, Durov posted the official requests on his VK page, asserting that these demands were unlawful.
Just days later, on April 21, 2014, Durov was dismissed from his position as CEO of VK. The company claimed that they were acting on a resignation letter he had allegedly submitted a month earlier but had failed to retract. Durov, however, disputed this account, suggesting that the real reason for his ouster was his refusal to comply with the government’s demands. He asserted that the company had been effectively taken over by allies of Vladimir Putin, and that his dismissal was directly linked to his defiance against handing over user data to federal law enforcement, particularly the personal information of those involved in the Euromaidan protest movement.
Following his dismissal, Durov left Russia, declaring that he had “no plans to go back” and stating that the country was “incompatible with internet business at the moment.”
Leaving Russia and starting Telegram
After leaving Russia, Pavel Durov obtained citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis by donating $250,000 to the country’s Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation. He also secured $300 million in cash within Swiss banks, which provided him with the financial foundation to focus on his next venture—Telegram, an encrypted messaging service. Telegram was initially headquartered in Berlin before relocating to Dubai.
In January 2018, Durov sought to capitalize on Telegram’s success by launching the “Gram” cryptocurrency and the Telegram Open Network (TON) platform. The venture quickly attracted $1.7 billion in investments. However, these projects were halted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which argued that the sale of Grams bypassed U.S. financing laws. As a result, Durov was ordered to return the funds to investors.
In 2018, Russia attempted to block Telegram after the company refused to cooperate with Russian security services, specifically the Federal Security Service (FSB). A leaked letter from an FSB employee suggested that the attempted block was tied to Telegram’s plans to launch the Telegram Open Network. Despite the block order, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to operate official channels on the app. Telegram reportedly evaded the block by using domain fronting. After two years of unsuccessful block attempts, Russia lifted the ban in 2020, citing Telegram’s agreement to “counter terrorism and extremism” on the platform.
Reason for arrest
The arrest reportedly stemmed from a warrant related to accusations that Durov failed to implement adequate moderation on the Telegram platform, which has been criticized for its use in criminal activities. Authorities allege that Durov did not take sufficient measures to curb illegal activities on the app.
The arrest was based on an arrest warrant issued by the French National Judicial Police as part of a preliminary investigation.
He has been accused of complicity and negligence related to the activities on his Telegram platform, where serious crimes, including drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and fraud, are said to occur frequently.
His arrest took place after he arrived in France from Azerbaijan. If convicted of these charges, Durov could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years. There are claims that Durov had previously avoided traveling to Europe due to potential legal risks.
Reports suggest that Durov was already on a list of individuals wanted by French authorities, and his arrest was linked to his failure to cooperate with judicial officials concerning issues related to Telegram’s operations. French police have pointed to the platform’s lack of moderation as a factor that allowed criminal activities to flourish unchecked.
Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), reacted to Durov’s arrest on social media, using the hashtag #freepavel and commenting sarcastically about the state of free expression in Europe, saying, “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
