Telegram founder Pavel Durov claimed in an interview released on Tuesday that he survived a poisoning attempt in spring 2018, but chose not to disclose the incident publicly until now.
Speaking to American podcaster Lex Fridman, Durov said that he believed he was dying after returning to his rented townhouse and finding that his “weird neighbour” had left something by the door.
“One hour after, when I was already in my bed — I was living alone — I felt very bad. I felt pain all over my body,” Durov recalled. “I tried to get up and go to the bathroom, but while I was going there, I felt that the functions of my body started to switch off.”
The 40-year-old billionaire claimed that he lost his eyesight and his hearing in quick succession and became unable to breathe, experiencing acute pain.
“It’s a difficult thing to explain, but one thing I was certain about was: this is it,” Durov said. “I thought, well, I had a good life, I managed to accomplish a few things. Then I collapsed on the floor.”
Durov said that he regained consciousness the following morning and was unable to work for two weeks.
He claimed that the alleged poisoning occurred in 2018 when Telegram was raising funds for the TON blockchain project, at a time when several governments — including Russia — were trying to ban the messenger app.
Russia’s communications watchdog Rozkomnadzor attempted to proscribe Telegram in April 2018, but was unable to carry out its threat despite blocking IP addresses.
The redundant ban was officially lifted in June 2020, with Roskomnadzor saying it had come to the decision because Durov had revealed he was prepared to cooperate with the state in combating terrorism and extremism on the platform.
However, in August 2025, Russia moved again to crack down on Telegram, restricting calls on the platform as the Kremlin pushed its new state-backed messaging app Max.
Roskomnadzor justified the move once again on security grounds, claiming that the app is used “for involving Russian citizens in subversive and terrorist activities.”
Durov said he never spoke out publicly because he “didn’t want people to freak out.”
“It wasn’t exactly the best moment for me to start sharing anything related to my personal health,” he explained, but added that it was “something that was hard to forget.”
He did not say where the suspected poisoning took place.
In August 2024, Durov was arrested by French police at an airport near Paris as authorities accused him of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of Telegram, including in fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism.
He was subsequently released on bail for five million euros but barred from leaving the territory of France until the case was resolved.