() – France’s prosecutor’s office told it has asked Switzerland for more information about allegations that Telegram founder Pavel Durov committed “acts of violence” against one of his sons.
The allegations against Durov were brought by Irina Bolgar, the Russian-born billionaire’s ex-partner and the boy’s mother. She filed a complaint with a court in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2023.
Bolgar told that she was in a relationship with Durov from early 2013 to 2022 and that they had three children together. She and the children now live in Switzerland. “Despite the marriage not being registered, the children were officially recognized and bear the father’s surname,” she wrote on Instagram.
In a lawsuit seen by , the Swiss court in Geneva says Durov’s ex-partner filed a complaint alleging violence against one of their three children. has reached out to Durov’s lawyers for comment on the allegations and the legal proceedings, but they declined to comment.
The ongoing case alleges that Durov harmed his minor son on five occasions between 2021 and 2022. On one occasion, he allegedly threatened “to kill him,” according to the complaint.
Durov, 39, was arrested Saturday at Paris’s Bourget airport on an arrest warrant related to Telegram’s lack of moderation, at a time when the platform is under scrutiny for its use by terrorist and far-right groups.
The businessman is at the centre of a media storm after being placed under formal investigation for several offences related to criminal activities on the messaging platform he founded. He was released on Wednesday and must remain in France under judicial supervision, with bail set at US$5.56 million (5 million euros).
France denies that Telegram founder’s arrest is “political”
According to the Swiss complaint against Durov, after the alleged incidents, the boy was in a “state of anxiety,” had “regular sleeping problems,” “enuresis” (the medical term for bedwetting) and nightmares.
Bolgar claims in the complaint that the couple separated at the end of 2018 and Durov promised in writing that he was willing to contribute 150,000 euros per month for the support of her and their children.
“He gave the aforementioned person two bank cards, allowing her to withdraw said amount from her personal accounts,” the complaint says.
The complaint adds that Durov had not seen his children since September 2022, that he did not take care of them and that he had “blocked” the bank cards he gave him.
In an Instagram post on July 30, Bolgar said she met Durov in 2012 and that they had been living together as a “full-fledged family” since 2013 in St. Petersburg, where their three children were born. Bolgar also said that since 2020 she and her children have been living in Switzerland.
“While living in different countries, my relationship with Pavel remained familial,” she wrote in the Instagram post.
Bolgar also said that they were “still a couple” and that Durov used to visit her and the children in Switzerland with his mother and brother.
She added that she did not make information about her family public to avoid deliberately drawing attention to herself or her children. However, she changed her mind because her children were asking why there was no information about them on the internet, “unlike their father’s two older children,” she said.
“I decided to clarify this information,” Bolgar said.
Durov’s arrest sparked a controversy over freedom of speech, causing particular concern in both Ukraine and Russia, where he is extremely popular and has become a key communication tool between military personnel and citizens during Moscow’s war against its neighbor.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters he knew “absolutely nothing” about Durov’s trips to France and that his arrest was an “independent action” taken by the country’s justice system.
The French leader said at a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, that he did not plan to meet Durov “at the end of last week or in the following days” and stressed that Durov’s arrest was an “independent action taken by the French justice system.”
Macron also defended his decision to grant Durov French nationality in 2021, praising the businessman for “making the effort to learn the French language.”
Durov’s naturalisation came as part of a French government initiative allowing people who “shine in the world” and “make the effort to learn the French language” to apply for French nationality. Macron eventually defended the plan, calling it “an extraordinary thing for our country”.
Durov was born in the Soviet Union in 1984 and by the age of 20 had become colloquially known as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg.” He left the country in 2014 and now lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds French nationality.
His fortune is estimated at US$ 9.15 billion, According to Bloombergand has maintained a lavish, globetrotting lifestyle for the past decade.
But while its app has won praise from free speech groups and has enabled private communication in countries with restrictive regimes, critics say it has become a safe haven for people coordinating illicit activities, including the terrorists who planned the Paris attacks in November 2015.
‘s Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report
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