Mystery has deepened surrounding a glamorous Russian crypto investor who was reportedly travelling with Telegram billionaire Pavel Durov before he was detained in Paris.
The Dubai-based streamer is known as Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24, but this is reportedly not her real family name.
She appears to have vanished since arriving in Paris with Durov when he was detained on the steps of his Embraer Legacy 600 private jet.
Pictures have emerged of a blonde woman, who appears to be Vavilova, having breakfast with Durov and his colleagues in Baku – the capital of Azerbaijan – before they flew to Paris.
She is seen sitting next to Durov at fashionable restaurant Shore House Baku, beside the Caspian Sea, in video revealed by Russian news outlet SHOT.
The Dubai-based streamer is known as Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24, but this is reportedly not her real family name
Mystery deepened today over the glamorous blonde Russian woman accompanying Telegram billionaire Pavel Durov when he was detained in Paris
A video shows her sitting next to Durov at fashionable restaurant Shore House Baku, beside the Caspian Sea, revealed by Russian news outlet SHOT
She is known as Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24, but this is reportedly not her real family name
Pavel Durov’s Instagram is full of pictures and videos of him flaunting his physique
It is owned by Emin Agalarov, a Russian singer and son of tycoon Aras Agalarov, who is a friend of Donald Trump.
The pair are also believed to have been together at a shooting range in Azerbaijan before leaving for Paris, with video showing them from behind.
Vavilova’s family in Russia cannot reach her, say reports, prompting speculation whether she has been arrested or is lying low.
She did not mention Durov’s name or show his face but was accompanying him on a sweep through Central Asia, and their relationship was reportedly known in certain circles in Dubai where they both live.
A man’s hand and foot appear in her posted pictures and she used the word ‘we’ about her travels, for example: ‘We got lost in a forest.’
She appears from a rear view on a photo just before his plane left Baku for Paris, and shows her own pictures on what is strongly believed to be his plane.
She also posted an Instagram story of a private jet, captioning it ‘New destination unlocked… 3 hours from Kazakhstan’ before asking her followers to guess her whereabouts in a poll titled ‘Where are we?’
Yulia shared video which appeared to show her and Durov shooting targets at a gun range
Telegram channel VChK-OGPU – with links to the Russian security services said: ‘Yulia Vavilova and Pavel Durov did not particularly hide their relationship, nor the fact that after a tour of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan they planned to visit France.’
In Kyrgyzstan, Durov is said to have whisked her to the mountains in an eight-seater helicopter, while insisting on confidentiality over his presence in the country.
What is known is that highly-educated Vavilova styles herself a gamer, streamer, and crypto investor and who runs a channel about cryptocurrency in Arabic, a language she speaks fluently.
Apart from Russian, she is also fluent in English and Spanish.
The ‘crypto coach’ is from Moscow but has lived in Dubai for around two years, and lately Durov has used this as his base after an itinerant life since 2014 when he left this homeland over pressure from the Putin regime to allow his security services access to Telegram.
Her mother Ekaterina made clear she had not heard from her daughter since before the plane landed in Paris.
‘We get all the news from the media,’ she told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
‘Our phones are ringing off the hook, but only journalists are calling.
‘Understand our position.’
Her phone is not answering, she told BAZA news outlet.
Vavilova’s family in Russia cannot reach her, say reports, promoting speculation whether she has been arrested or is lying low
The newspaper said that Yulia started using the name Vavilova when she went to Dubai.
With the couple both at the Baku breakfast and on the Kyrgyzstan helicopter trip was highly successful Russian influencer Guseyn Gasanov, 30.
Vavilova has around 45,000 followers across several platforms, including Telegram.
There is nothing to suggest she is more than a successful businesswoman and influencer who has a romantic relationship with the secretive Durov.
It remains far from clear why Durov flew to Paris with Vavilova when he knew he faced possible arrest.
Yulia is reported to have started using the name Vavilova when she went to Dubai
The messenger app tech tycoon – living in self-imposed exile from his native Russia – is believed to have been aware of a potential French criminal investigation.
He was held at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, less than a week after Vladimir Putin abruptly refused to meet him when both men were in Azerbaijan capital Baku when reportedly a meeting had been brokered.
Instead the Kremlin stepped up efforts to block or slow down Telegram in Russia last week.
In Kyrgyzstan, Durov is said to have whisked her to the mountains in an eight-seater helicopter, while insisting on confidentiality over his presence in the country
Durov founded the so-called Russian Facebook – named VK – as well as Telegram messenger, which is heavily used for communications by both sides in the Ukrainian war, and is worth £13.6 billion.
He is expected to face charges that Telegram is complicit in drug trafficking, child pornography and fraud, due to a lack of moderation controls, along with his failure to cooperate with French law enforcement.
His Telegram empire is worth some around £23.5 billion, and he has been dubbed the Mark Zuckerberg of Russia.
He recently revealed himself to be the father of more than 100 children as a sperm donor.
A video before his arrest, likely filmed by Vavilova, shows him driving freely in Kazakhstan shortly before travelling to Azerbaijan then leaving for Paris.
The Kremlin said today: ‘We don’t know exactly what Durov is accused of, we haven’t received any official statements yet.
‘Let’s wait until the charges are made public, if they are. After that, we’ll be able to draw some preliminary conclusions.’
Russia has demanded consular access to Durov, TASS reports, but he is a French citizen and this is not likely to be granted.
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