With the approval of the sheikhs. Experts explained Pavel Durov’s multiple citizenship

Caribbean passports

Pavel Durov turned out to be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, France and the Caribbean island state of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and his brother’s second citizenship was island citizenship, according to data published by Le Monde and RIA Novosti.

• Telegram founder Pavel Durov is now in France, charged with six counts of lack of moderation at Telegram and for running a platform associated with the criminal world. Due to jail time, Durov was released on bail in
  €
  5 million Pavel’s brother Nikolai, believed to be the creator of Telegram’s encryption code, is wanted for refusing to cooperate with authorities in an investigation into child sexual abuse.

As told to RB.RU founder of the international consulting boutique Bespalov Finance Alexander BespalovThe St. Kitts and Nevis passport is one of the Caribbean investment passports that were very popular among Russians and were very suitable for travel due to the large number of visa-free destinations. Durov acquired this passport about 10 years ago through a transparent procedure for the investor in exchange for symbolic money for himself. Now a passport can be obtained by purchasing real estate worth $400,000 or more or by making a non-refundable contribution of $250,000 to the state fund or social projects.

It is no longer possible for Russian citizens to obtain such a passport, says Bespalov.

“The St. Kitts and Nevis program is not available for Russians; the same situation applies to other “golden passports” in the Caribbean. The path opens only if you have another passport. Some first receive Kyrgyz citizenship and then fit into Caribbean programs,” Bespalov said.

It is true that it is not a given that such citizenship will be effective. The attitude of Western countries towards Caribbean passports has deteriorated significantly due to the poor quality of verification of applicants.

Junior Partner at Emet Arsen Danelyan Law Firm He adds that this is only a travel document. It will not be possible to present oneself as a resident, for example, to banks or brokers.

“Enforcement is not willing to accept such a document; it knows and understands that the passport was purchased for investment and the citizen has no residency in the Caribbean. Most likely, he has never even been there,” said Arsen Danelyan.

UAE passport after approval by the sheikhs.

It is logical that Pavel Durov did not stop at the passport of Saint Kitts and Nevis, but was able to obtain citizenship of the United Arab Emirates, although this is not easy. Pavel has been living and working in Dubai since 2017.

“As we have been saying for a long time with irony: ‘You cannot obtain citizenship in the Emirates if you are not Pavel Durov.’ In fact, this is not entirely true; there are other precedents. According to our information, due to special services to the country – and Durov probably went through this procedure in the UAE – former Real Madrid footballer Michel Salgado received citizenship, although he did not actually even play in the Emirates. But the procedure is complicated: the application must be approved by the sheikhs, crown princes, executive councils of the emirates and the Cabinet of Ministers,” Bespalov said.

If you go through the naturalization procedure, you can wait 30 years to get a passport in the UAE, but, for example, doctors and scientists can get one in 10 years.

“Highly qualified specialists have been living and working in the Emirates for decades without becoming citizens of this country,” RB.RU explained. Evan Golovanov, financial and investment expert, founder of the financial club “Multiplier”.

There is also the option of investing in real estate (you need to invest around $3 million), but there are very few successful cases, said the founder of Bespalov Finance. But in the United Arab Emirates, for investing in real estate for just over $0.5 million, you can obtain a 10-year residency visa.

Durov’s French passport

Another Durov passport, the French one, is considered by experts to be “one of the strongest in the world.”

“In terms of doing business in the West, a French passport of course offers more opportunities than a UAE passport, so Durov can be understood,” says Bespalov.

According to the expert, becoming a French citizen cannot be called very difficult. You can apply for naturalization after five years of residence. When studying in France and in some other cases, this period can be reduced. Most likely, Pavel received French citizenship through the accelerated option, for special merits. In this case, Bespalov believes, France is not the easiest country; there is quite strict control there, so reports of several cases of refusal to Durov seem plausible.

• Durov was granted a French passport in 2021 as an “honorary foreigner” who “contributes to France’s influence,” wrote Le Monde. The decision to grant Durov a passport was taken by Emmanuel Macron in 2018.
• “We made this decision in 2018 and I consider it completely justified. “I think it is right to grant citizenship to prominent businessmen, athletes and artists,” Macron justified himself in late August, after Durov’s arrest, speaking in Belgrade, TASS reported. It was planned that Telegram’s headquarters could also be moved to Paris.
• As a result, Durov’s French citizenship allowed him to be arrested in Paris on 24 August.

Why do you need a foreign passport?

Evan Golovanov from Animator mentioned the reasons why investors obtain citizenship of different countries.

First, it increases mobility, which is especially important for startup owners, international companies, and corporate CEOs.

Secondly, if an entrepreneur is engaged in international business, especially in technological ones, like the Durov brothers, sometimes the company is not aimed at making profits “here and now”, but is intended to grow in capitalization.

“The owners want to take it to an IPO, attract institutional funding and interact with investment funds. Unfortunately, even before 2022, domestic companies, whose owners were all Russians, were treated with caution on the international capital market. They were less willing to cooperate with such companies because foreign investors felt unprotected. That is why many entrepreneurs also tried to obtain a second citizenship,” Evan Golovanov explained.

The third reason concerns Durov personally as a systems player in the communications market.

“It can be assumed that he wanted to be less dependent on some government bodies and not let them influence his career or the vector of business development,” Golovanov believes.

The expert adds that fewer and fewer passports are available for Russians and that passports require larger financial investments than before.

“We are often talking about hundreds of thousands of euros. Interestingly, the option with Europe still exists; however, those who received a European passport often had a residence permit and officially worked in the country for several years. But citizenship based solely on mobility goals becomes extremely expensive. Therefore, this option is suitable for very wealthy people,” the expert said.

Danelyan adds that in the case of the Durovs, businessmen with unlimited resources, having multiple citizenships is more practical than having just one.

“A French passport for Europe, a UAE passport for the Arab world, a Caribbean passport for hassle-free border crossings – many Russians are genuinely jealous of this diversity of citizenship. Now most “investment passport” programs are not available to Russians, and truly outstanding people receive passports for “outstanding services” in countries such as the UAE and France. But there are still programs and countries that are happy to issue passports and long-term residence permits to Russians. However, their number is decreasing against the background of pressure from sanctions and restrictions,” said Arsen Danelyan from the Emet law firm.