Pavel Durov Arrested: The Charges, Family Background, Citizenship, and Financial Status Explained

Pavel Durov Arrested in France

Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the widely-used encrypted messaging service Telegram, was arrested in France after disembarking from his private jet at Le Bourget Airport. He faced a range of serious charges, including terrorism, narcotics, pedo-criminal content, complicity, money laundering, and fraud.

Background and Early Life

Durov was born on October 10, 1984, in Leningrad, Russia (now Saint Petersburg), although because of his father's job, he lived most of his early years in Turin, Italy. In 2006, he received a first-class degree from Saint Petersburg State University's Department of Philology.

Net Worth and Influence

Durov, the creator of Telegram, is believed to be worth $15.1 billion, mostly as a result of the messaging app's popularity. In 2018, Russia made an attempt to shut down Telegram because Durov wouldn't work with Russian security agencies. 2020 saw the restriction lifted after Telegram promised to deal with extremism and terrorism on the network.

Family and Heritage

Durov is from a distinguished family. Semyon Petrovich Tulyakov, his grandfather, was a World War II soldier who was awarded several military decorations. Valery Semenovich Durov, his father, is a prominent scholar and a doctorate holder in philological sciences.

Personal Life and Legacy

Durov, who became a citizen of the United Arab Emirates in April 2021, is single, has two kids, and lives in Dubai. Known for his libertarian beliefs, he maintains an austere lifestyle and promotes independence from material belongings.

Career Highlights

Durov and Ilya Perekopsky co-founded VKontakte (VK) in 2006, emulating Facebook. VK expanded to a $3 billion value under his direction. Nonetheless, there were some controversial incidents throughout his tenure, such as a 2011 police standoff over requests to remove the pages of opposition politicians. He turned down the Mail.ru Group's 2012 proposal to buy VK, and in December 2013, he sold Ivan Tavrin his 12% ownership in the business. The resignation of Durov as CEO of VK on April 1, 2014, which was first linked to the Russo-Ukrainian War, turned out to be an April Fool's hoax. He defied orders from Russian security services to take down the demonstrators from Ukraine and Alexei Navalny's VK profile. Consequently, he was formally dismissed as CEO on April 21, 2014, and claimed VK had been effectively taken over by Vladimir Putin's allies. He subsequently left Russia.

Post-Russia Ventures

Durov obtained citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis after fleeing Russia, and he put $300 million in Swiss banks. His main project was creating Telegram, an encrypted messaging service with a Berlin headquarters that was eventually relocated to Dubai. To capitalize on Telegram's popularity, he unveiled the TON platform and the cryptocurrency.