French prosecutors confirmed that they are seeking further information from Swiss authorities regarding the accusations brought forward by Irina Bolgar, Durov’s former partner and the mother of his three children.
The allegations, filed in a Geneva court in March 2023, accuse Durov of harming his youngest son on five occasions between 2021 and 2022, including an instance where he allegedly threatened the child’s life, reported CNN.
Bolgar, who now resides in Switzerland with their children, reportedly claimed that Durov has not seen his children since September 2022 and had cut off financial support by blocking the bank cards he had previously provided, as per reports.
Bolgar took to Instagram to share her side of the story, revealing that despite not being married, their children bear Durov’s last name and were officially recognized by him.
She explained that their relationship, which began in 2013, had once been family-like, with Durov regularly visiting her and the children even after they moved to Switzerland in 2020. However, she stated that the decision to go public with the allegations came after her children questioned why they were not mentioned online like Durov’s other children. “I decided to shed some light on this information,” Bolgar wrote.
The situation took a dramatic turn when Durov was arrested at Paris’s Bourget Airport on Saturday. The arrest, initially related to allegations of Telegram’s lack of moderation in combating the use of the platform by terrorists and far-right extremists, has sparked a debate over freedom of speech. Durov was placed under formal investigation and released under judicial supervision with a bail set at 5 million euros. He must remain in France as the investigation continues.
French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the situation, emphasized that Durov’s arrest was an “independent action” taken by the French justice system, unrelated to any planned meetings with the entrepreneur. Macron also defended the decision to grant Durov French citizenship in 2021, highlighting Durov’s efforts to learn the French language as part of a government initiative to naturalize individuals who contribute globally.
Durov, often referred to as the “Mark Zuckerberg of Russia,” left his homeland in 2014 and now resides in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered. His app, while praised for enabling private communication in oppressive regimes, has also faced criticism for becoming a platform where illicit activities, including the planning of the 2015 Paris terror attacks, are coordinated.