Pavel Durov (the founder of Telegram) is still a citizen of the Russian Federation.

Axar.az reports that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated this.

"As for obtaining French citizenship, we have no information about this; it is not our concern," the Kremlin spokesperson said.

It should be noted that Pavel Durov was detained at Paris's Le Bourget airport on August 24 and is facing charges in 12 criminal cases. The businessman is accused of refusing to cooperate with authorities, possessing and distributing pornographic images of minors, obtaining, selling, or trafficking in drugs, and participating in fraud.

P. Durov has been charged and released under judicial supervision.