In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Telegram founder Pavel Durov and invited him to lunch to move the company’s headquarters to Paris. However, Durov rejected this offer.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, citing people who know.
One of the sources said that Macron even discussed with Durov the possibility of granting him French citizenship. Despite Durov’s refusal at the time, the Russian was nevertheless granted a French passport in 2021.
A year earlier, French intelligence services, together with the United Arab Emirates, carried out an operation aimed at hacking Durov’s iPhone, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The still-unknown spy operation was codenamed “Purple Music.” French authorities were concerned that the Islamic State terrorist group was using Telegram to recruit fighters and launch attacks.
An interlocutor close to Durov said the company had for many years ignored law enforcement requests and court orders sent to a rarely monitored email address.
While there is no evidence that negotiations with Macron or the hacking of Durov’s phone played a role in his recent arrest, these developments add new details to Durov’s complex relations with France and the United Arab Emirates.
Recall that Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was arrested in France on Saturday evening. There were no official comments on the situation for almost two days, after which French President Emmanuel Macron said that the arrest was not related to political motives.
Kursor also reported that today, August 28, Pavel Durov was released from custody. According to media reports, the investigating judge decided to end his detention in police custody for initial questioning and possible filing of charges.
