After being released, the founder and CEO of the social media platform Telegram, Pavel Durov, is currently under investigation by French authorities, adding a mysterious twist to his detainment in France due to his possession of multiple citizenships.
It has been reported by the Associated Press that some Western governments have accused Telegram of aiding drug dealers, money launderers, extremist groups, and producers of child pornography. Durov holds passports from Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. His estimated wealth by Forbes is around $15.5 billion.
Last Saturday (August 24), Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris as part of a comprehensive judicial investigation initiated the previous month. After four days of questioning, he was released earlier on Wednesday. French judges have brought preliminary charges against him, requiring him to pay a €5 million bail and report to the police station twice a week.
While Durov’s various passports did not shield him from arrest, the situation in France became relatively complex due to his multiple citizenships.
According to reports, Durov also holds a residence visa for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and allegedly obtained citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis by donating $250,000 to the sugar industry of the Caribbean country.
Saint Kitts and Nevis still serve as tax havens for the wealthy and those looking to avoid the cumbersome visa processes to visit other countries.
In a social media post in 2017, Durov mentioned receiving a passport of Saint Kitts and Nevis in spring 2013, calling it “convenient” as it allowed visa-free travel to the EU and the UK. He added that he had never actually been to the island nation nor had any plans to travel there.
By 2017, Durov had started working and residing full-time in Dubai, with his Telegram office located in Dubai Media City.
At some point during this time, the UAE granted citizenship to Durov, which is rare in a country where 90% of the population consists of foreign nationals without a pathway to citizenship.
The reasons for the UAE granting Durov citizenship remain undisclosed, although the state-owned WAM agency acknowledged his citizenship on Tuesday, requesting France to provide him with “all necessary emergency consular services.”
The pathway to his acquisition of French citizenship remains unclear.
Durov officially became a French citizen in 2021, with his name appearing in the naturalization section of the official French gazette on August 25 of that year. Following a government decree, in May 2022, he officially transliterated his name to “Paul du Rove” in French.
The naturalization process in France is typically lengthy and complicated, but due to the country’s privacy protection practices, details of Durov’s naturalization are not publicly disclosed.