Telegram founder Pavel Durov is under investigation in Switzerland over significant other allegations of child abuse
According to Forbes, Telegram founder Pavel Durov is under investigation in Switzerland over a criminal complaint filed by his significant other Irina Bolgar over allegations of child abuse. The allegations surfaced after Durov's recent arrest in France and are part of a wider legal dispute, including claims of unpaid child support and a bitter custody battle.
The Geneva Public Prosecutor's Office initially refused to entertain the criminal complaint against Durov because it had been filed more than three months after the most recent alleged incident of physical violence. In May 2023, Bolgar filed an appeal, and the court allowed the case to proceed in October last year. The case is still ongoing, according to Geneva court officials, with Bolgar accusing Durov of wounding their youngest son (born in September 2017) five times between 2021 and 2022. The incidents allegedly caused injuries to the child, including concussions and sleep disturbances, and Bolgar and Durov's message in November 2021 and medical certificate in April 2023 were submitted as evidence that the child continued to suffer from anxiety and sleep problems as a result of the violence.
Durov's representative declined to comment. Bolgar's lawyer confirmed that Bolgar and his three children were involved in a civil case, but declined to comment on the criminal complaint. Durov, Bolgar and their children are not publicly named in the criminal case because of Swiss law, but there are multiple details in the case that confirm Durov's identity, including the year of his children's birth and the case number in the civil children's case.