In 2017, France and the UAE hacked the iPhone of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in an operation codenamed “Purple Music.” This is reported by The Wall Street Journal with reference to sources.
According to their information, the authorities of both countries were concerned that the messenger was being used by terrorists, drug dealers and cybercriminals.
The company has ignored subpoenas and court orders from law enforcement agencies for years, the source added.
In addition, in 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron was ready to grant Durov citizenship and discussed the possibility of moving Telegram’s headquarters to Paris. However, the businessman rejected the offer.
Durov received a French passport and UAE citizenship in 2021. After that, the UAE invested more than $75 million in Telegram, the newspaper noted.
Let us recall that Pavel Durov was detained at the French airport Le Bourget on the evening of August 24. The businessman is being questioned as part of an investigation into the crimes of an “unidentified person” under 12 articles. He himself has not been charged.
The crypto community supported the founder of Telegram. The TON blockchain team changed the logo in communication channels to the avatar of the meme token Resistance Dog (REDO). The coin immediately rose in price by 140%.
In an April interview with Tucker Carlson, Pavel Durov spoke about pressure on the messenger from governments of various countries. He said that Telegram responds to requests to stop propaganda of violence and terrorist activity, but ignores requests that infringe on freedom of speech and privacy of correspondence.
At the same time, the businessman did not rule out that the devices he used were compromised by the intelligence services.
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Source: Cryptocurrency
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