Who is Pavel Durov? India is reportedly the last country that could ban the Telegram app

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Here's the latest on Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram and Vkontakte, who was arrested — but not yet charged — in France over the weekend for allegedly enabling widespread criminal activity on Telegram.

Key data

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Important background: Who is Pavel Durov?

Durov – a 39-year-old billionaire of Russian origin – is often referred to as Russia's Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk. In 2006, Durov founded the social media platform Vkontakte, which became known as the Russian version of Facebook. Durov has said he left Russia in 2014 after refusing to hand over private data from Vkontakte to the Kremlin that showed Ukrainian users were using the site to organize protests, CNN reported. In 2013, Durov founded Telegram, a messaging platform similar to WhatsApp. He later said he chose Telegram because “it doesn't matter how many messaging apps there are if they all suck,” noting that for him, WhatsApp “sucked the most.” Telegram is best known for its end-to-end encryption and lack of moderation – elements of the app that Durov says are important for privacy, although they are also attractive to people who use the app for illegal purposes. Durov told CNN in 2016 after the app was used to plan a terrorist attack in Paris: “You can't protect it from criminals and at the same time make it accessible to governments… It's either safe or it's not safe.” Durov is now a citizen of France, Russia, the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates, the Associated Press reported. Telegram is headquartered in Dubai, which Durov said earlier this year is “the best place for a neutral platform like ours if we want to make sure we can protect the privacy and freedom of expression of our users.”

Why was Durov arrested?

Durov was arrested in France after landing at Le Bourget airport near Paris. No charges have reportedly been filed against him, but he remains in custody and is being questioned by a law enforcement agency that deals with financial crimes in France. A prosecutor in Paris said an investigation into criminal activity on Telegram was launched in July and that there were a number of possible charges related to “child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, aiding and abetting criminal transactions and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement,” according to the Times.

Does Durov have 100 children?

Durov said in a Telegram post earlier this year that he had been told he had “over 100 biological children,” despite never being married and saying he “loves living alone.” He said a friend approached him and asked Durov to donate sperm so he and his wife could have a child, so he came forward as a sperm donor. In the post, he said his donation had helped “over a hundred couples in 12 countries” have children, and he plans to release his DNA as open source so his children can find each other.

Is Durov still active on Vkontakte?

No. Durov was fired from Vkontakte in 2014 and sold his remaining stake in the company, which is now controlled by Russia. He initially resigned from the company, saying his freedom had been restricted, but later said he was fired after trying to withdraw his resignation, Reuters reported.

Have you ever had problems with Telegram?

Yes. Russia banned Telegram in 2018 after it failed to comply with a court order requiring the state to access its users' encrypted messages. However, the ban was lifted two years later because it was found to be unenforceable. Germany fined Telegram about $5 million in 2022 after the government said Telegram had neither created a lawful way to report illegal content nor identified an entity in Germany that would receive its official communications, the AP reported. Brazil also temporarily banned Telegram last April for refusing to provide data on neo-Nazi groups reportedly behind a series of school shootings.

Large number

More than 950 million. That's how many users Telegram claims to have. It is also said to be one of the “top 5 most downloaded apps” worldwide. On Tuesday, it was ranked 11th among the best free apps in Apple's App Store and 9th in the Android App Store.

Main critics

Durov's arrest has drawn criticism from other social media leaders, including billionaire Elon Musk. Musk posted a video of Durov captioned “#FreePavel.” And Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble – a video-sharing site popular with conservatives – said France had “crossed a red line” by arresting Durov.

Key quote

In an unsourced statement published on the platform, Telegram said Durov had “nothing to hide” and that it was “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”

Forbes Rating

We estimate that Durov has a net worth of $15.5 billion, making him the 120th richest person in the world.

More information

ForbesOfficials confirm arrest of billionaire and Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France: Here’s what we knowFrom Molly BohannonForbesPavel Durov