Durov was asked if he was a “Russian asset.”
“I am Russian, and I will die rather than I will become someone’s asset,” Durov answered.
He also believes that people who allow such statements have a superficial idea of him.
“And about what I did before Telegram, what I did with Telegram and what role my previous company VK and Telegram played in protecting freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the inviolability of private life in Eastern Europe,” Durov said.
At the forum, the founder of Telegram spoke on video from France, since the court forbade him to attend the event in Oslo, the organizers said.
Last week, Politico wrote that the French authorities rejected the request of the founder Durov for a trip to the United States for “negotiations with investment funds”, as they considered it “not necessary or justified.”
Context
Durov Detained in the evening of August 24 2024 at the Parisian airport Le Bourget, as reported in the prosecutor's office of France, On the basis of the warrant in the case, which on July 8 began the Department of Combat Cybercriminals. The case is carried out against persons suspected of complicity in a number of cybercrime.
Law enforcement officers kept Durov in custody until August 28. On that day, he was released on bail of € 5 million, he was forbidden to leave France. Six points were charged against the businessman, among them – the refusal to provide information or documents at the request of authorized bodies for the listening law permitted by the law; complicity in providing access to Telegram users who distribute pornographic content with minors, drug sellers, scammers; Washing money.
The media noted that the main reason for Durov’s detention is his refusal to modulate Telegram, which is often used by criminals and the refusal to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
