French President Emmanuel Macron has denied having any prior knowledge that Telegram founder Pavel Durov was travelling to Paris or that he had any plans to meet him during his stay.
Macron’s denial, which was made at a press conference in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Thursday, was prompted by a claim made by French satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné that Durov had told the police officers who subsequently arrested him that he had flown to Paris to meet Macron for dinner.
Durov, who was arrested on Saturday evening upon arrival at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, was indicted on multiple criminal charges by the French Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday evening. He has since then been released on a €5 million bail bond and placed under judicial supervision.
“In our country there is a separation of powers. This was an independent decision by the French legal system. It is a lie that I invited him. I had no plans to meet Durov either late last week or in the days ahead,” Macron said.
The French president also called the decision to grant Durov French citizenship in 2018 “fully justified”, adding that it was “right” to reward those who achieved global success and made an effort to learn French with a French passport.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the French secret services had colluded with the United Arab Emirates to hack Durov’s iPhone in 2017. The WSJ also revealed that Macron had suggested Durov move Telegram’s headquarters to Paris in 2018, an offer that Durov ultimately declined.
Dubbed “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg” by some, Durov is estimated to be worth €13.9 billion by Forbes, having founded the Telegram messaging app, which now has close to 1 billion users, in 2013. He has been based in Dubai since 2017.