Source: CoinTelegraph.com
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s phone was reportedly hacked in 2017, a year before his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, which has only recently come to light.
In the most recent development, Durov was reportedly targeted by French and United Arab Emirates spies in 2017, a year before his meeting with Macron.
The joint operation, code-named “Purple Music,” hacked Durov’s iPhone due to the UAE’s concern over the use of Telegram to recruit operatives and plan attacks, anonymous sources familiar with the matter reportedly told The Wall Street Journal.
Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport north of Paris after landing in a private jet from Azerbaijan on Aug. 24.
Durov met with Macron in 2018
In another surprising development, Durov reportedly met with French President Macron in 2018 and was asked to move Telegram’s headquarters to Paris.
While Durov declined the offer at the time, he reportedly asked the president to grant him French citizenship.
If Macron invited Durov to France, Telegram could potentially prove entrapment, according to American entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan, who wrote in an Aug. 28 X post:…