Irina Bolgar, who calls herself the mother of three children of Telegram founder Pavel Durov (No. 8 in the Forbes ranking of 125 billionaires of Russia – 2024, fortune – $15.5 billion), told Forbes that the entrepreneur demanded that she move to the UAE with her children, and when she refused, he stopped providing her with financial support.
According to Bolgar, Durov last visited her in Geneva in the fall of 2022 and then gave her an ultimatum. Before that, the billionaire had mutually agreed to pay for all expenses on the children, including education. In addition, Bolgar could use the funds on her credit card at her own discretion, with a limit of €150,000 per month, she told Forbes.
She noted that Durov had no intention of moving her and her children to Dubai and there was no talk of resuming their relationship. When Bolgar refused to move to the UAE, he, according to her, stopped supporting her financially, stopped communicating with the children and blocked Irina on Telegram.
According to Bolgar, Durov did not do this for money. “All the blockings… were undertaken with the aim of forcing me against my will, manipulating my parental right not to sign the consent [на проживание детей в Европе] and my responsibility to provide for my children, to move to the Emirates,” she believes.
Bolgar specified that after that she and her children live on the money she earns in a Swiss consulting company. Bolgar complained that the family’s standard of living has significantly decreased since the breakup with Durov. “When we first flew economy class, the children [которые раньше летали только на частных самолетах] asked, “Where did the other people come from here,” she said.
On August 28, Forbes reported that Bolgar filed a criminal lawsuit against Durov in Switzerland in 2023. The lawsuit alleged that Durov had physically abused one of their children. Shortly thereafter, she filed a civil lawsuit for custody of the children. The lawsuit was filed several months after the billionaire, according to Bolgar, stopped paying her child support. It said that Durov stopped seeing their children in September 2022 and stopped paying her child support around the same time. After that, she was forced to raise the children on her salary of 8,000 Swiss francs ($9,500) per month, the materials specified.
In July, Bolgar contacted Forbes with a request to correct the number of Durov’s children in the billionaire ranking, increasing their number from two to five. She clarified that she is the mother of the three youngest children of the Telegram founder. At Forbes’ request, she sent photocopies of the children’s birth certificates, certificates of recognition of paternity by Durov, scans of notarized translations of these documents into French and English, as well as a family photo from the birthday of her middle son Daniel, taken in her home in Geneva in January 2020. Forbes managed to obtain confirmation of the authenticity of the documents from the Geneva translator to whom Bolgar turned.
Durov was detained on the evening of August 24 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport, where he arrived from Azerbaijan, after exiting a private jet, French sources reported. TF1, The Parisian and BFMTVOn August 26, the Telegram founder’s detention was extended for another 48 hours.
Prosecutor’s Office of Paris reportedthat Durov was questioned as part of an investigation into an unnamed individual in connection with multiple cybercrimes. The individual is charged with refusing to cooperate with authorities, as well as complicity in the possession and distribution of pornographic images of minors; the acquisition, transportation, storage, sale or transfer of drugs; and fraud as part of an organized group. Reuters celebratedthat the investigation is being carried out by the French cybercrime unit and the national anti-fraud office.
On the evening of August 25, Telegram commented for the first time on the detention of its founder. The platform’s message said that the messenger complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and that its moderation system complies with industry standards and is “constantly being improved.” “It is absurd to claim that the platform or its owner are responsible for the abuse of this platform,” the message noted. The company added that the billionaire has nothing to hide and “travels frequently in Europe.”
Durov is a citizen of four countries – Russia, the state St. Kitts and Neviswhich is located in the Caribbean, France and the UAE. Durov received a French passport in August 2021. Information about Durov’s four citizenships was confirmed by Politico, citing an administrative document.
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova reported On August 25, Moscow sent a note demanding access to Durov, but, according to her, the French authorities consider his French citizenship to be his primary one. UAE Foreign Ministry reported On August 26, he also demanded that France provide Durov with access to all necessary consular services, emphasizing that Dubai is closely monitoring the case of the Telegram founder. According to a source close to Durov, the Telegram founder refused the UAE’s help. A representative of the Paris prosecutor’s office told Politico that “any person of foreign nationality in police custody has the right to contact the consular offices of his country,” without specifying whether Durov had made such a request.
Politico reported on August 28 that France has also issued an arrest warrant for the brother of Telegram founder Nikolai Durov. According to Politico, an arrest warrant for both Nikolai and Pavel Durov was issued on March 25 on charges including “complicity in the possession, distribution, offering, or providing access to pornographic images of minors in an organized group.”
