Telegram Director's Legal Case in Switzerland for Violence Against His Son

Pavel Durov, the director of Telegram, who is facing a legal case in France related to "organized crime," has also been accused of violence against one of his children in Switzerland. Following revelations by Forbes magazine, the Parisian newspaper Le Monde published more details about this case on Friday. According to the report, one of the women who previously lived with Mr. Durov and is the mother of his three children filed a complaint in March 2023, about a year and a half ago, in Switzerland, accusing her former partner of violence against one of their sons. This woman has been residing in Switzerland since 2020. Mr. Durov himself boasted about having multiple children about a month ago, stating on his Telegram channel, "I was just told that I have over 100 biological children. Fifteen years ago, a friend of mine who was infertile asked me to donate sperm. The head of the clinic told me there was a shortage of 'high-quality donor material' and it was my civic duty to donate more." A month after Mr. Durov's statement, Forbes revealed his violence against one of his five children, who were conceived naturally. According to this American magazine, Irina Bulgar, who was Mr. Durov's partner until the end of 2018 and the mother of his three children, filed a complaint on March 27, 2023, in Geneva, where she resides, due to three acts of violence against their youngest son. This revelation came after Mr. Durov was arrested in France and charged with twelve crimes, most of which were related to organized crime. One of these charges was his failure to cooperate with judicial authorities, particularly regarding the dissemination of child pornography content on Telegram. However, in Switzerland, based on a ruling issued on October 23 of the previous year by the country's judiciary, Ms. Bulgar's complaint refers to three instances of violence allegedly occurring in the presence of her and two other children. Two additional instances of violence were added to this case during the judicial process. According to court documents accessed by Le Monde, in one of these instances, in April 2021, when Mr. Durov's family members visited him in the United Arab Emirates, where he resides, he allegedly "struck his three-year-old son in the back and threw him 'across the room.'" Another instance occurred in November of the same year in Paris, where Mr. Durov allegedly "struck the child's back again, then grabbed him and shook him violently while lifting him off the ground." The document adds that the child's head was injured and his shoes were torn off. Based on messages exchanged the following day between the parents, the child experienced nausea and lethargy. Additionally, the child suffered from nighttime incontinence and "frequent nightmares," which lasted for "several months." The third instance dates back to July 2022, when the child celebrated his fifth birthday in Geneva, where Mr. Durov is said to have "struck his son's back." The document states: "As the boy tried to escape, Mr. Durov grabbed his leg and said he intended to kill him. The child fell, hitting his head on the ground. Since then, he has again suffered from nighttime incontinence and frequent nightmares. These symptoms were confirmed by a medical certificate issued on April 5, 2023." While the Swiss judiciary dismissed this case in April 2023 due to weak connections between these three events and its jurisdiction, Ms. Bulgar appealed this decision in May of the same year, and a few months later, the court ruled in her favor. Thus, this complaint is now the subject of an investigation in Switzerland, and the Paris prosecutor's office has announced that investigations in this regard are ongoing with Switzerland. This complaint arises against the backdrop of disputes between Durov and his former partner. According to Swiss legal documents referenced by Le Monde, Durov has not seen his children since September 2022 and has not provided for them, blocking the bank cards he had given to his former partner. Additionally, during their separation, this Russian billionaire committed in writing to provide Ms. Bulgar with monthly support of up to 150,000 euros for the care of their children. However, according to Swiss court documents, for almost two years, Ms. Bulgar has been managing most of the expenses related to their children on her own, while Mr. Durov only pays for school fees and some medical expenses.