Born in Leningrad in 1984, Durov built VKontakte (otherwise known as VK), the Russian equivalent to Facebook, in the early 2000s before founding Telegram in 2013. Durov came under increasing pressure from the Kremlin to provide user data from VK which led to him leaving Russia in 2014.
Before departing he posted, “So long, and thanks for all the fish”, a farewell message from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, left by the dolphins when they departed Earth just before its destruction.
Durov briefly settled in Berlin before establishing himself in Dubai sometime around 2017.
Despite a fortune estimated by Forbes in 2024 at US$15.5B, 40 year-old Durov avoids material wealth, reportedly owning no homes or luxury assets, and embracing a nomadic existence. In 2021, he obtained French citizenship through a rare “eminent foreigner” process without ever residing in France. Claims of fathering over 100 children across twelve countries by sperm donation have further cemented his legacy as a provocateur of technological and societal norms.
He designed his messaging app Telegram to be a fortress for privacy and free expression but it has also earned notoriety as a haven for misinformation and criminal activity.
Last week, Telegram reported a profit of US$540M for 2024, with revenues soaring to US$1.4B. It was the first time that the social media company had turned a profit and it came as the company, and its founder, are coming under increasing pressure.
In August 2024, Durov was sensationally arrested at Le Bourget Airport on the outskirts of Paris. He was interviewed 4 days after arriving in France, charged with twelve offences, including complicity in the distribution of child exploitation material and drug trafficking, placed under judicial supervision and barred from leaving France.
At the time, he commented that he had been told that he, “may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram”.
“Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach,” he continued.
“Establishing the right balance between privacy and security is not easy … Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave the country. We’ve done it many times.”
In March, Durov requested modifications to his €5M bail and he was allowed to temporarily leave France.
And then in April, Durov made some startingly allegations.
Posting on X, he wrote, “This spring at the Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon, Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, asked me to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of the elections. I refused. We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe.”
The Hôtel de Crillon is a truly magnificent hotel. It’s listed by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique and sits at the foot of the Champs-Élysées overlooking the Place de la Concorde. As a location for spies to be making contact with their adversaries, it’s first class.
French intelligence denied making the request as alleged by Durov, although it did confirm that it had been in contact with him.
“The DGSE strongly refutes allegations that requests to ban accounts linked to any electoral process were made on these occasions,” the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) service said in a statement.
“The DGSE states that it has indeed been obliged, on several occasions in recent years, to contact PD directly to remind him firmly of his company’s responsibilities, and his own personal responsibilities, in terms of preventing terrorist and child pornography threats,” it continued.
Durov responded, “French foreign intelligence confirmed they met with me, allegedly to fight terrorism and child porn. In reality, child porn was never even mentioned. They did want IPs of terror suspects in France, but their main focus was always geopolitics: Romania, Moldova, Ukraine.”
“Since 2018, Telegram has fought child abuse in many ways: content fingerprint bans, dedicated moderation teams, NGO hotlines, and daily transparency reports on banned content - all verifiable. Falsely implying Telegram did nothing to remove child porn is a manipulation tactic.”
In a significant upset, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, won the rerun of Romania’s presidential election on May 18, beating a nationalist candidate, George Simion in a vote that was seen as crucial for the direction of the EU.
On May 20, Simion filed a challenge and officially called on the country’s Constitutional Court to annul the election result for the same reason that the December elections were annulled - external interference by State and non-State actors.
In response to Simion’s call, Durov offered to travel to Romania and testify, “if it helps Romanian democracy”.
However, the court rejected the challenge two days later on the grounds of it being unfounded.
Most recently, on May 24, Durov alleged that Lerner was in Romania two days before its election.
Durov continued by quoting a close ally of French President Macron, Valérie Hayer, who told France Info on May 10, “We will do everything on the ground to ensure that the next Romanian president is pro-European.”
“So what did the head of French intelligence do in Romania a few days before this promise?” Durov asked.
Despite the intrigue, the political situation in Romania seems to have now calmed significantly since the election result although some polarisation between supporters remains. Whether Durov’s allegations resurface remains to be seen.
Lawyer and writer Philip Crump explores political, legal and cultural issues facing New Zealand. Sometimes known as Thomas Cranmer. This article was published HERE
Before departing he posted, “So long, and thanks for all the fish”, a farewell message from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, left by the dolphins when they departed Earth just before its destruction.
Durov briefly settled in Berlin before establishing himself in Dubai sometime around 2017.
Despite a fortune estimated by Forbes in 2024 at US$15.5B, 40 year-old Durov avoids material wealth, reportedly owning no homes or luxury assets, and embracing a nomadic existence. In 2021, he obtained French citizenship through a rare “eminent foreigner” process without ever residing in France. Claims of fathering over 100 children across twelve countries by sperm donation have further cemented his legacy as a provocateur of technological and societal norms.
He designed his messaging app Telegram to be a fortress for privacy and free expression but it has also earned notoriety as a haven for misinformation and criminal activity.
Last week, Telegram reported a profit of US$540M for 2024, with revenues soaring to US$1.4B. It was the first time that the social media company had turned a profit and it came as the company, and its founder, are coming under increasing pressure.
In August 2024, Durov was sensationally arrested at Le Bourget Airport on the outskirts of Paris. He was interviewed 4 days after arriving in France, charged with twelve offences, including complicity in the distribution of child exploitation material and drug trafficking, placed under judicial supervision and barred from leaving France.
At the time, he commented that he had been told that he, “may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram”.
“Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach,” he continued.
“Establishing the right balance between privacy and security is not easy … Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave the country. We’ve done it many times.”
In March, Durov requested modifications to his €5M bail and he was allowed to temporarily leave France.
And then in April, Durov made some startingly allegations.
Posting on X, he wrote, “This spring at the Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon, Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, asked me to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of the elections. I refused. We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe.”
The Hôtel de Crillon is a truly magnificent hotel. It’s listed by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique and sits at the foot of the Champs-Élysées overlooking the Place de la Concorde. As a location for spies to be making contact with their adversaries, it’s first class.
French intelligence denied making the request as alleged by Durov, although it did confirm that it had been in contact with him.
“The DGSE strongly refutes allegations that requests to ban accounts linked to any electoral process were made on these occasions,” the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) service said in a statement.
“The DGSE states that it has indeed been obliged, on several occasions in recent years, to contact PD directly to remind him firmly of his company’s responsibilities, and his own personal responsibilities, in terms of preventing terrorist and child pornography threats,” it continued.
Durov responded, “French foreign intelligence confirmed they met with me, allegedly to fight terrorism and child porn. In reality, child porn was never even mentioned. They did want IPs of terror suspects in France, but their main focus was always geopolitics: Romania, Moldova, Ukraine.”
“Since 2018, Telegram has fought child abuse in many ways: content fingerprint bans, dedicated moderation teams, NGO hotlines, and daily transparency reports on banned content - all verifiable. Falsely implying Telegram did nothing to remove child porn is a manipulation tactic.”
In a significant upset, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, won the rerun of Romania’s presidential election on May 18, beating a nationalist candidate, George Simion in a vote that was seen as crucial for the direction of the EU.
On May 20, Simion filed a challenge and officially called on the country’s Constitutional Court to annul the election result for the same reason that the December elections were annulled - external interference by State and non-State actors.
In response to Simion’s call, Durov offered to travel to Romania and testify, “if it helps Romanian democracy”.
However, the court rejected the challenge two days later on the grounds of it being unfounded.
Most recently, on May 24, Durov alleged that Lerner was in Romania two days before its election.
Durov continued by quoting a close ally of French President Macron, Valérie Hayer, who told France Info on May 10, “We will do everything on the ground to ensure that the next Romanian president is pro-European.”
“So what did the head of French intelligence do in Romania a few days before this promise?” Durov asked.
Despite the intrigue, the political situation in Romania seems to have now calmed significantly since the election result although some polarisation between supporters remains. Whether Durov’s allegations resurface remains to be seen.
Lawyer and writer Philip Crump explores political, legal and cultural issues facing New Zealand. Sometimes known as Thomas Cranmer. This article was published HERE
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