Russia and the United Arab Emirates offered diplomatic support to Telegram founder Pavel Durov following his arrest in France. However, the billionaire has rejected these offers.
This was reported by Politico, citing an anonymous French official.
“Durov did not request consular assistance from Russia and refused visits from UAE representatives, although he agreed that the UAE embassy should be aware of his case,” the source said.
A representative of the UAE diplomatic service confirmed the existence of contacts with both the French authorities and Durov’s team. The Russian embassy in France had no comment at the time of publication.
According to the publication, at the time of his arrest, Pavel Durov claimed that he had arrived for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. However, the French side denied these statements.
After his arrest, Durov used the right to call to contact Xavier Niel, a famous French billionaire and co-owner of the newspaper Le Monde. The content of their conversation is unknown. In the circle of the Parisian elite, Durov, according to a former official of the French Ministry of Finance, has almost no influential friends. “It is as if he were a stranger in these circles,” the former official noted.
According to Politico, the case against Durov is related to an undercover operation. A fake Telegram agent contacted an alleged sex offender who talked about convincing minors to send him indecent photos and also admitted to raping him. The investigation asked Telegram to provide the suspect’s identity, but the platform refused to disclose the information.
Recall that earlier Cursor reported that on August 24, 2024, French special services detained Pavel Durov. The media reported that he could face up to 20 years in prison. The founder of Telegram is also banned from leaving France until March 2025. The court set bail at five million euros, of which one million must be paid immediately and the rest within five months.
