Who is Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and why was he arrested?

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov – a tech billionaire who left his native Russia years ago after tangling with the Kremlin over free speech — was arrested at an airport in Paris on Saturday.

French authorities had issued a search warrant as part of an investigation into the the 39-year-old tech tycoon over claims that Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, failed to prevent organized crime, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and the promotion of terrorism from invading his platforms.

The search warrant for Durov – who has a net worth of $15.5 billion, according to Forbes – was only valid once he stepped foot on French soil.

He was traveling with his ‘girlfriend’ Yulia Vavilova

Durov reportedly landed in France with a blonde female “crypto coach,” believed to be Yulia Vavilova, who reportedly joined him on trips through Central Asia prior to his arrest.

During his trips to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan, Pavel #Durov was accompanied by 24-year-old “crypto coach” and streamer Yulia Vavilova💄, who resides in Dubai. She was also with him at the time of his arrest in France.

Up until August 24, she had been actively… pic.twitter.com/I8DSxPOgMI

— Russian Market (@runews) August 25, 2024

Users on X have speculated the 24-year-old crypto and finance streamer from Dubai may be Durov’s girlfriend, claiming she posted photos and geolocations of Durov’s every step during their travels and stopped after his arrest.

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” Telegram said in a post on Sunday. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owners are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

What we know about his arrest

Russia’s embassy in France said it “immediately asked the French authorities for clarification of the reasons and demanded to ensure the protection of his rights and provide consular access” in a post on Telegram.

“The arrest of Telegram’s president on French territory took place 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 soon after former president Donald Trump promoted his family’s upcoming cryptocurrency platform in a Truth Social post that linked to a Telegram channel.

What is Telegram?

Durov has called Telegram – which became an indispensable communication tool for citizens and government officials during the Russia-Ukraine war – a neutral platform.

Ukrainian government officials have used the messaging app to send out air raid warnings and disperse maps of local bomb shelters. Citizens have used the site to document war horrors firsthand. 

Telegram exists as one of the last news links between Russia and Ukraine. And pro-democracy groups around the world widely use the app as an organizing tool. 

But Telegram also has come under fire for being used by extremist groups like the Islamic State, white nationalists and COVID-19 and QAnon conspiracy theorists.

In an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson this year, Durov placed an emphasis on the importance of freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and a free market. 

“Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram,” Carlson said in a post on X after Durov was arrested.

“But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away.”

Carlson said Durov’s arrest should serve as a “warning” to social media platform owners who refuse to censor the truth.

Durov co-founded Telegram with his older brother Nikolai – a programmer and mathematician – in 2013.

Seven years earlier in 2006, Durov founded Russia’s largest social network, VKontakte, or VK. Commonly known as the Russian version of Facebook, VK has about 85 million users, according to Statista.

Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member,… https://t.co/F83E9GbNHC

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2024

VK was placed on a Russian state black list in 2013. The ban — which a state spokesperson called a “mistake” — was lifted hours later.

The overnight blacklisting came as tensions brewed between the Kremlin and Durov.

The Federal Security Service, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, ordered Durov to shut down activist-run VK groups used to organize protests over the 2011 parliamentary election that claimed a victory for Putin’s United Russia party. 

Durov – a staunch free speech advocate – refused to close the groups, including a protest group led by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. 

A month before the blacklisting, Durov was reportedly involved in a traffic accident that left a police officer slightly injured. The tech CEO refused to testify as a witness and instead fled the country, sources who knew him said.

Around the same time, a private equity firm connected to the Kremlin bought a 48% stake in VK – pushing out the founding partners who backed Durov.

Durov decided to live in self-imposed exile. He obtained citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis after making a $250,000 donation to the islands’ sugar industry. 

The Caribbean island archipelago was colonized by the British and French, before becoming a self-governed state associated with Great Britain in 1967. 

Durov moved himself and Telegram headquarters to Dubai in 2017.

He was granted French citizenship in 2021.