Factbox: Who is Pavel Durov, CEO of the Messaging App Telegram?

Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging platform, was arrested at Bourget Airport near Paris on Saturday evening, according to reports from local television outlets citing unnamed sources.

The focus of the investigation involves accusations regarding insufficient moderation on Telegram, with authorities suggesting that this deficiency has allowed criminal activities to persist unchecked on the platform.

Telegram has not issued a public response to inquiries about the situation. The French Interior Ministry and police have also refrained from commenting. Meanwhile, Russian officials, who have previously attempted to ban Telegram, are reportedly taking measures to clarify Durov’s status.

Here are some key points about Durov and his app, Telegram:

– Durov, 39, originally from Russia, is the founder of Telegram, a free messaging service that competes with other popular platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat. The platform aims to reach over one billion active monthly users within a year.

– Telegram has gained significant influence in Russia, Ukraine, and former Soviet republics, serving as a crucial source of information regarding Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine, and is heavily utilized by officials in both Moscow and Kyiv. Analysts have referred to Telegram as “a virtual battlefield” in this context.

– Durov’s wealth is estimated at $15.5 billion, according to Forbes. He left Russia in 2014 after defying government demands to dismantle opposition groups on his social media platform VKontakte, which he subsequently sold.

– Durov became a French citizen in August 2021 and relocated Telegram to Dubai in 2017. Reports indicate he has also acquired citizenship from the United Arab Emirates and is a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, a Caribbean dual-island nation.

– In 2018, Russia initiated a block on Telegram after the app refused to comply with a court directive that would grant security agencies access to users’ encrypted messages. Although the ban had minimal impact on the app’s accessibility, it incited widespread protests in Moscow and drew criticism from non-governmental organizations.

– The growing popularity of Telegram has led to increased scrutiny from several European nations, including France, over security and data privacy issues. Recently, European Union tech regulators have engaged with Telegram as it nears a threshold that may subject it to stricter regulations under new online content laws.

– Durov expressed a desire for freedom over compliance with authority during an interview, reflecting on his decision to leave Russia and the challenges he faced in finding a suitable location for his company, which included stays in Berlin, London, Singapore, and San Francisco.