Irina Bolgar, the former partner of the Russian-born billionaire and the child\u2019s mother, made the claims against Durov. She filed a legal complaint in a court in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2023. <\/p>\n
The ongoing case alleges that Durov harmed his youngest son five times between 2021 and 2022. In one instance, he allegedly threatened \u201cthat he would kill him,\u201d the complaint says. <\/p>\n
Durov, 39, was arrested at Paris\u2019s Bourget Airport on Saturday on a warrant related to Telegram\u2019s lack of moderation as the platform comes under scrutiny for its use by terrorist groups and far-right extremists. <\/p>\n
The entrepreneur has found himself at the center of a media storm as he was placed under formal investigation for several offenses related to criminal activity on the messaging platform he founded. He was released from custody on Wednesday and must remain in France under judicial supervision, with a bail set at $5.56 million (5 million euros). <\/p>\n
According to the Swiss complaint against Durov, after the alleged incidents, the child had been in an \u201canxious state,\u201d had \u201cregular sleep troubles,\u201d \u201cenuresis\u201d (the medical term for bedwetting), and nightmares. <\/p>\n
Bolgar claims in the complaint that at the end of 2018 the couple had separated and Durov committed in writing that he was willing to contribute 150,000 Euros a month towards the maintenance of her and her children. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave the named two bank cards, allowing her to withdraw the said sum from his personal accounts,\u201d the complaint says. <\/p>\n
The complaint adds that Durov had not seen his children since September 2022 and that he was not taking care of them and had \u201cblocked\u201d the bank cards he had given her. <\/p>\n
In an Instagram post from July 30, Bolgar said she met Durov in 2012 and had been living together as a \u201cfully-fledged family\u201d since 2013 in St. Petersburg where their three children were born. Bolgar also said that since 2020 she and her children had been living in Switzerland. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile living in different countries, my relationship with Pavel remained family-like,\u201d she wrote in the Instagram post. <\/p>\n
Bolgar also said that they \u201cremained a couple\u201d and Durov used to visit her and the children in Switzerland with his mother and brother. <\/p>\n
She added that she did not publicize the information about her family to avoid deliberately bringing attention to herself or her children. But changed her mind because her children had been asking why there was no information about them on the internet, \u201cunlike their father\u2019s two older children,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to shed some light on this information,\u201d Bolgar said. <\/p>\n
Durov\u2019s arrest started a row over freedom of speech, and caused particular concerns in both Ukraine and Russia, where it is extremely popular and has become a key communication tool among military personnel and citizens during Moscow\u2019s war on its neighbor. <\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters that he \u201cknew absolutely nothing\u201d about Durov\u2019s travels to France and his arrest was an \u201cindependent action\u201d taken by the country\u2019s justice system. <\/p>\n
The French leader told a scheduled press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, that he was not scheduled to meet Durov \u201cat the end of last week or the days after\u201d and stressed that Durov\u2019s arrest was an \u201cindependent action taken by the French justice system.\u201d <\/p>\n
Macron also defended his decision to grant French nationality to Durov in 2021, commending that the entrepreneur \u201chad made the effort to learn the French language.\u201d <\/p>\n
Durov\u2019s naturalization came about as part of a French government initiative that allows individuals who \u201cshine in the world\u201d and \u201cmake the effort to learn the French language\u201d to apply for French nationality. Macron ultimately defended the scheme, calling it a \u201cgreat thing for our country.\u201d <\/p>\n
Durov was born in the Soviet Union in 1984, and in his 20s became colloquially known as the \u201cMark Zuckerberg of Russia.\u201d He left the country in 2014 and now lives in Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered, while also holding French citizenship. <\/p>\n
He is worth an estimated $9.15 billion, according to Bloomberg, and has maintained a lavish, globe-trotting lifestyle over the past decade. <\/p>\n
But while his app has won plaudits from free speech groups and 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 terror attacks in November 2015. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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