Telegram founder Pavel Durov has mocked intelligence agencies for failing to cater to his dating preferences, joking that tech CEOs who aren’t attracted to Asian women are being deprived of “honeypot” opportunities.
In a tongue-in-cheek post on X on Wednesday, the Russian-born billionaire questioned why intelligence services had apparently failed to send female operatives his way who suited his preference for non-Asian women, asking whether they were “even trying.”
He made a pointed exception for France, quipping that its “decision-makers aren’t into girls” – an apparent jab at President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, who have sued US podcaster Candace Owens over her claims that France’s first lady was born male. Durov concluded that Paris could be excused, but that everyone else should “try harder” to seduce him.
Unfair that CEOs who aren’t into Asian girls get fewer dating options from spy agencies. Where are the French/Russian/Iranian honeypots? Not one spy girl sent my way. Are they even trying? France is excused — their decision-makers aren’t into girls. Everyone else: try harder!
Durov’s remarks follow an espionage scandal involving American AI chipmaking giant Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his alleged affair with a suspected Chinese spy. The controversy erupted in late October after reports linked the CEO to Alice Huang, or Huang Le, a Chinese executive formerly associated with Megaspeed International, a major Nvidia chip buyer in Southeast Asia.
US intelligence officials suspect the woman was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to gather information on Nvidia and potentially influence its CEO to push Washington to ease AI chip export restrictions.
After initially describing their interactions as routine business dealings, Huang admitted last week to an extramarital affair without confirming the name of the woman. Nvidia launched an internal investigation into the alleged honeypot operation.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that the FBI has also opened a probe, but defended Huang, a close ally in Washington’s AI rivalry with Beijing, calling him “an amazing guy” who had been unaware of the alleged espionage.
Beijing has dismissed the allegations as “a groundless accusation, slander, and a smear.” Meanwhile, separate reports have since alleged another affair between Huang and Nvidia healthcare vice president Kimberly Powell, and claimed the company’s board is considering ousting the CEO.
While Durov’s apparent disappointment over his lack of suitable “honeypots” was clearly in jest, his relations with French intelligence have been anything but romantic.
French spies have reportedly targeted the Telegram founder, who holds French citizenship but is based in the UAE, for years. According to the Wall Street Journal, French intelligence teamed up with the UAE back in 2017 to hack his iPhone over concerns about Islamic State militants using Telegram.
In February 2024, French prosecutors opened an investigation into Telegram’s alleged failure to cooperate with law enforcement. The case escalated that August with Durov’s arrest and placement under formal investigation over suspected crimes facilitated through the platform.
Durov denied wrongdoing, calling it “absurd” to hold a platform owner responsible for users’ crimes and accusing Paris of using the case to pressure Telegram into political censorship. He claimed French foreign intelligence pushed him to silence conservative voices ahead of Romania’s 2025 presidential election and censor Moldovan Telegram channels ahead of the country’s 2024 vote, allegedly even offering to influence the judge overseeing his case in exchange for cooperation.
France’s foreign intelligence agency, the DGSE, later acknowledged meeting Durov but denied his allegations. The Telegram founder remains under formal investigation. Following more than six hours of questioning in Paris in July, his lawyers said nearly two years of investigations had yielded no evidence against him.
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