Paris, France
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested on Saturday (August 24) upon landing in France on his private jet, was accompanied by a mystery woman, as per reports. The woman has been identified as Juli Vavilova, a 24-year-old "crypto coach" who is believed to be behind his arrest.
Here's everything you need to know about mystery woman Juli Vavilova:
Who is Juli Vavilova?
Juli Vavilova is a crypto coach and streamer based in Dubai. Active on social media platforms, including Instagram, she describes herself as a gamer interested in "Gaming, crypto, languages, and mindset".
The 24-year-old is believed to be Durov's girlfriend and, as per reports, she might be behind the Telegram CEO's arrest.
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Is she a Mossad agent?
Speculations on social media have been plenty since Durov's arrest. One wild theory suggests that Vavilova is a Mossad agent who was planted as a honey trap to aid the capture of Pavel Durov.
Other theories propose that she herself was under Mossad surveillance and her frequent posts on social media that showed her in the same locations as Durov led to his arrest. She has posted photos from many of the places Durov was at — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan.
Why was Pavel Durov arrested?
Pavel Durov, a Russian-born billionaire with dual French-Russian citizenship, was arrested on Saturday after flying into Le Bourget airport outside Paris.
The 39-year-old billionaire, as per reports, was flying from Azerbaijan.
Also read | Telegram gets probed by Indian govt for gambling and extortion, may face ban: Report
He has been arrested for failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform. France's OFMIN, a body tasked with preventing violence against minors, as per the news agency AFP, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov.
The Kremlin on Monday (August 26) said it had received no information from France on why it was holding Pavel Durov.
"We do not know concretely what Durov is accused of. We have not heard any official declaration on this subject," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Before saying anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer… Without that, it would be inappropriate to comment," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)