The information about Nikolai Durov being wanted in France appears in recent reports. French authorities issued an arrest warrant for Nikolai Durov, the brother of Pavel Durov and co-founder of Telegram, back in March. This action is part of a broader investigation into Telegram, which has been under scrutiny for its alleged involvement in various illegal activities. Nikolai’s current whereabouts remain unknown, but the authorities are continuing their investigation. The situation escalated after the recent arrest of Pavel Durov in France, further intensifying the legal pressure on both brothers​(POLITICO,CoinGape).

Nikolai Durov is believed to have developed the data compression algorithm used in Telegram. He is a proponent of open-source software and actively participates in the development of free software.

The elder Durov was recognized as one of the most influential people in the IT industry according to Forbes magazine.