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Genius in black who has over 100 children, who is the founder of Telegram arrested in France

2024-08-26 14:45:02Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Genius in black who has over 100 children, who is the founder of Telegram

Pavel Durov, the co-founder of Telegram has been arrested in France, but who is the 39-year-old known as the "Russian Zuckerberg".

Durov has run into trouble with authorities in Russia and around the world, and this weekend he was arrested at an airport near Paris on charges related to his messaging app Telegram, according to French media, citing unnamed sources.

French investigators issued an arrest warrant for fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime and the promotion of terrorism on his platform.

The entrepreneur was born in St. Petersburg and is two months away from celebrating his 40th birthday.

At the age of 22, he launched his first social media, VKontakte (VK), a platform serving Russian-language users, which proved to be more popular than Facebook in his native Russia.

But he fled the country in 2014 after refusing to accede to government demands to shut down opposition groups in the UK and hand over personal data to the Russian security service, the FSB. This included a request to block the account of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

He later sold VK, telling American journalist Tucker Carlson: "I'd rather be free than take orders from anyone."

In the same interview he also said that he had no assets such as real estate and that his only assets were money and Bitcoin.

In 2013, with his brother Nikolai, he launched Telegram, a platform that claims to prioritize the protection of user data and competes with other social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.

The service allows anyone to share videos, photos and comments in so-called "channels" or groups, but user data is protected by encryption. There are also private "channels" that give the group administrator the right to control who can see their posts.

Durov has always refused to moderate messages on Telegram, promoting it as a "free" platform.

In 2018, a Moscow court ordered the blocking of Telegram. But it proved unsuccessful as protesters surrounded the FSB headquarters, throwing paper airplanes, a symbol of Telegram.

Russia dropped its plan to block Telegram and the government also uses the app.

Telegram is used by opposition groups around the world who do not want their data or messages compromised. It has been a key platform of information on the complete invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 for both sides of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses Telegram to post videos about the war every day, and pro-Moscow channels run by so-called "Z-bloggers" are also popular.

However, Telegram has also become a platform for extremists and conspiracy theorists. The groups, which allow up to 200,000 members, have made it easier to spread disinformation and include neo-Nazi groups and pedophile groups.

After leaving Russia, Durov took up citizenship in the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis after he donated $250,000 (€223,000) to the country's sugar industry, according to Russian media reports.

In August 2021, he was granted French citizenship. The circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the French passport remain a mystery and the French authorities have never commented on it.

He also holds citizenship of the United Emirates and lives in Dubai, where Telegram is also based.

Durov is estimated to have a net worth of around $15.5 billion according to Forbes, making him the 121st richest person in the world.

Always dressed in black, Durov is a somewhat mysterious figure and rarely gives interviews.

However, he posts on his Telegram channel that he lives a solitary life and does not consume meat, alcohol or coffee.

He also claimed to be the biological father of more than 100 children thanks to his sperm donations in a dozen countries, describing it as a "civic duty".

Why was he arrested?

French investigators issued an arrest warrant for fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime and the promotion of terrorism on his platform. He is accused of not taking measures to prevent the criminal use of his platform.

"Enough with Telegram's impunity," said one investigator, according to The Guardian, who also said they were surprised Durov flew to Paris knowing he was a wanted man.

Durov has said in the past that Telegram responds to any request to remove content that calls for violence or murder.

"Telegram adheres to EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and is constantly improving," Telegram said in a statement on Sunday evening.

"Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and often travels to Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform. We are waiting for a quick solution to this situation", the announcement continues.


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