CEO of the week: Telegram’s Pavel Durov, who got arrested

According to reports, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested in France recently as part of an investigation into the messaging app’s dearth of moderators.

The Russian embassy in France insisted that Pavel Durov’s rights be respected and that he be granted consular access.

According to the embassy, France has so far “avoided engagement” with Pavel Durov’s predicament.

Who is  Pavel Durov?

1. Pavel Durov was born in Leningrad, a Russian port city but spent most of his childhood in Turin, Italy, where his father was employed.

2. He completed his engineering degree from the Philology Department of the Saint Petersburg State University in 2006.

3. After his graduation, Durov developed a social networking site VKontakte, also known as VK, with Ilya Perekopsky, Russian entrepreneur, which was initially influenced by Facebook.

4. In 2013, Durov launched another messaging app named Telegram.

5. In 2014, he was dismissed as CEO of VK, suggesting his refusal to hand over personal details of users to the Russian government as the reason.

6. The same year, Durov left Russia and shifted to Saint Kitts and Nevis, an island city and stated that he had “no plans to come back to the country.”

7. In 2018, the Russian government attempted to block Telegram, after the company refused to cooperate with Russian security services.

8. According to Forbes, in April 2021, he received United Arab Emirates citizenship, and now lives in Dubai.

9. Durov was named the most promising Northern European leader under 30 and he was chosen to join the WEF Young Global Leaders, representing Finland.

10. The Fortune magazine included Durov in their “40 Under 40” list, an annual ranking of the most influential young people in business and he was also named the most powerful entrepreneur in Dubai by Arabian Business.

11. According to Forbes, as of August 25, Durov’s net worth is estimated to be $15.5 billion.