Pavel Durov, who is often referred to as the “Russian Mark Zuckerberg,” is a 39-year-old billionaire and tech entrepreneur who is originally from Russia. He made his mark on the tech field in 2006 by founding Vkontakte. This social media platform is often described as Russia’s version of Facebook. An interesting fact is that Durov’s vision and innovation quickly propelled Vkontakte to fronting Russia’s digital landscape.
However, Durov’s journey took a major turn in 2014 when he moved from Russia. This was because he refused to hand over private data from Vkontakte to the Kremlin. Furthermore, this data was linked to Ukrainian users organizing protests; this was the move that put Durov at odds with the authorities of Russia.
With this, in 2013, Durov founded Telegram, which is a messaging platform that has evolved and grown into one of the most popular apps in the world right now, housing about 950 million users.
Durov’s Recent Legal Troubles
One of Durov’s recent challenges came when he was detained in France; this occurred after he landed at Le Bourget Airport, near which was Paris. Durov has not been formally charged; the billionaire is being held and questioned by a French law enforcement agency, that is responsible for financial crimes.
Furthermore, one prosecutor in Paris has further revealed that an investigation into this criminal activity on Telegram began in July, with potential and sensitive charges such as child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement as well.Â
All these investigations have only put Durov and the Telegram company under tight, intense scrutiny, with questions being raised about the platform’s role as a facilitator to these illegal activities and Durov’s responsibility as its leader.
Durov’s Complex Personal Life
Durov has an enigmatic persona in his unconventional personal life. Earlier this year, in a telegram post, Durov revealed that he has about 100 biological children; however, he is not married or has ever been married, and he prefers to live alone. His decision to donate sperm, which helps couples across 12 countries to have children, has fuelled a public fascination with his private life and caught the public eye.Â
Past Troubles with Telegram
It is best to know that this isn’t the first time Telegram has faced a series of legal challenges. For the record, in 2018, Russia banned the platform as a result of refusing to provide the state access to the encrypted messages, though the ban was later lifted.
Not to forget that Germany fined Telegram $5 million in 2022 because they failed to establish a law for reporting illegal content.Â
Brazil temporarily banned the Telegram app last year because it did not provide data on neo-Nazi groups involved in school shootings.
A Complicated Relationship with France
The situation with France is quite complex. Durov’s phone was hacked by France and the UAE over seven years ago with concerns that the Islamic State was using Telegram to recruit operatives. However, despite these tensions, Durov had a scheduled lunch meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018. Here he was, invited to move Telegram’s operations to Paris.
