2024-08-31 18:39:11
The French president defended his decision to grant him citizenship: He created wealth and learned our language
Three mysteries complicate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the head of “Telegram” Pavel Durov – how well he knows French President Emmanuel Macron, how he acquired French citizenship, how many passports he has and whether the Russian-born billionaire is still loyal to the Kremlin.
The surprise arrest of the owner of the encrypted messaging app a week ago sparked sharp criticism of France from freedom of speech advocates. It almost became an occasion for a diplomatic scandal – given the multiple citizenships of the entrepreneur, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $15.5 billion.
“Politico” pays attention to important details of the life and history of the 39-year-old Durov, which until now remained undisclosed.
Telegram boasts over 900 million active monthly users. However, in France it is not among the most popular. However, President Macron is known to have been using it for almost 10 years – although last year members of his cabinet were asked to stop doing so. With the doors closed
Durov is everything met with the french president
at least once in 2018, a person close to Macron said. And according to Le Monde, the two have seen each other many times since Macron became the leader of France.
He has long pushed for Paris to become home to big tech companies. This partly explained why the Russian got citizenship – he created wealth and learned the French language. However, the decision was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the presidency is categorical. It was part of a strategy to welcome into the country artists, athletes and entrepreneurs who met the criteria. The same was done for the head of “Snapchat” Evan Spiegel. Macron also rejected speculation that Durov had traveled to Paris to meet him.
It seems, however, for the billionaire
the acquisition it’s on passports kind of hobby –
in addition to Russian and French, he obtained citizenship from the UAE, as well as from the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Until now, it was known that only Moscow requested consular access to the billionaire. The UAE informed Politico that the embassy in Paris had acted to be notified of the development of the case.
Durov’s relations with the Kremlin are also a key issue. Apparently they don’t look good. Before Telegram, he founded the Vkontakte platform. Claims that in 2014 he was pressured by the Russian government to provide information about Ukrainian opposition activists. In the same year, the Ukrainian Euromaidan movement grew. It is known that Pavel Durov sells Vkontakte and starts clean by leaving the country.
He founded “Telegram” with his brother – Nikolai, who still lives in St. Petersburg and is also wanted by the French authorities. Nikolai stands in his brother’s shadow and deals with technical work, and Pavel with ideology and financing. The Russian oligarch from Putin’s entourage
Alisher Usmanov has invested in “Telegram”
in its early stages.
A report indicates that Durov visited Russia over 50 times between 2015 and 2021. Telegram is used for communication by the Russian military even on the battlefield. Its users include businessmen, political officials, military bloggers and journalists. Moscow’s embassy in Paris first stood up for the billionaire’s rights – which also raised doubts about the Kremlin’s relationship with Durov.