The mystery has deepened around a glamorous Russian cryptocurrency investor who was reportedly travelling with Telegram billionaire Pavel Durov before being detained in Paris.
The Dubai-based streamer is known as Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24, but this is reportedly not her real last name.
She appears to have disappeared since arriving in Paris with Durov, when the latter was detained on the steps of his Embraer Legacy 600 private jet.
Images have emerged of a blonde woman, believed to be Vavilova, having breakfast with Durov and his colleagues in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, before flying to Paris.
She is seen sitting next to Durov at the posh Shore House Baku restaurant, next to the Caspian Sea, in a video revealed by Russian news outlet SHOT.
The Dubai-based streamer is known as Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24, but this is apparently not her real last name.
The mystery deepened today over the glamorous Russian blonde who accompanied Telegram billionaire Pavel Durov when he was arrested in Paris
A video shows her sitting next to Durov at the posh Shore House Baku restaurant on the Caspian Sea, revealed by Russian news outlet SHOT
She is known as Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24 years old, but apparently this is not her real last name.
Pavel Durov’s Instagram is full of photos and videos of him flaunting his physique.
It is owned by Emin Agalarov, a Russian singer and son of tycoon Aras Agalarov, 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 a video showing them from behind.
Vavilova’s family in Russia are unable to contact her, reports say, sparking speculation about whether she has been arrested or is hiding a secret.
She did not mention Durov’s name or show his face, but she was accompanying him on a trip through Central Asia and their relationship was reportedly known in certain circles in Dubai, where they both live.
The published photographs show a man’s hand and foot and he used the word “we” to refer to his travels, for example: “We got lost in a forest.”
She appears from behind in a photo just before her plane left Baku for Paris, and shows her own photos in what is firmly believed to be her plane.
He also posted an Instagram story of a private jet, captioning it ‘New destination unlocked… 3 hours from Kazakhstan’ before asking his followers to guess its whereabouts in a poll titled ‘Where are we?’
Yulia shared a video that appeared to show her and Durov shooting at targets at a shooting range.
The Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which has links to Russian security services, reported: ‘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 flown her into the mountains in an eight-seater helicopter, although he insisted on confidentiality about his presence in the country.
What is known is that Vavilova, who is highly educated, describes herself as a cryptocurrency gamer, streamer and investor and runs a cryptocurrency channel in Arabic, a language she speaks fluently.
In addition to Russian, he is also fluent in English and Spanish.
The crypto coach is from Moscow but has been living in Dubai for about two years, and Durov has recently used this place as a base after a life of itinerant activity since 2014, when he left this homeland under pressure from the Putin regime to allow its security services access to Telegram.
Her mother, Ekaterina, made it clear that she had not heard from her daughter since before the plane landed in Paris.
“We receive all the news from the media,” he told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
‘Our phones are ringing off the hook, but only journalists are calling.
“Understand our position.”
His phone is not responding, he told news outlet BAZA.
Vavilova’s family in Russia are unable to contact her, reports say, raising speculation about whether she has been arrested or is in hiding.
The newspaper said Yulia started using the name Vavilova when she travelled to Dubai.
Both at breakfast in Baku and on the helicopter ride to Kyrgyzstan, the couple was accompanied by successful Russian influencer Guseyn Gasanov, 30.
Vavilova has around 45,000 followers on various platforms, including Telegram.
There is nothing to suggest that she is anything other than a successful businesswoman and influencer who is in a romantic relationship with the reserved Durov.
It is not entirely clear why Durov flew to Paris with Vavilova when he knew he could be arrested.
It is said that Yulia started using the name Vavilova when she went to Dubai.
The messaging app tech mogul, who lives in self-imposed exile from his native Russia, is believed to have been aware of a possible French criminal investigation.
He was arrested 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 Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, when a meeting had reportedly been negotiated.
Instead, the Kremlin stepped up its efforts to block or slow down Telegram in Russia last week.
In Kyrgyzstan, Durov is said to have flown her into the mountains in an eight-seater helicopter, while insisting on confidentiality about her presence in the country.
Durov founded Russia’s so-called Facebook – called VK – as well as the messenger Telegram, which is widely used for communications between the two sides in the Ukraine war and is worth £13.6bn.
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 its failure to cooperate with French police.
His Telegram empire is worth around £23.5bn and he has been dubbed the Mark Zuckerberg of Russia.
He recently revealed that he has fathered more than 100 children as a sperm donor.
A video from before his arrest, probably filmed by Vavilova, shows him driving freely in Kazakhstan shortly before travelling to Azerbaijan and then leaving for Paris.
The Kremlin said today: “We do not know exactly what Durov is accused of, we have not yet received any official statement.”
“We will wait for the charges to be made public, if they are made. Then we can draw some preliminary conclusions.”
Russia has demanded consular access to Durov, TASS reports, but he is a French citizen and is unlikely to be granted access.