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The recent heist at Paris’ Louvre Museum has triggered hullabaloo on social media with several public figures and influential handles chiming in. Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has offered to purchase the stolen jewels and return them, but not to France.
Instead, the Russian-born tech billionaire said he would donate them to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, claiming the treasures would be “safer in the UAE than in France.”
Reacting to the robbery, Durov said he was “not at all surprised.” In a post on X, he wrote, “It’s another sad sign of the decline of a once great country — where the government has perfected the art of distracting people with phantom threats instead of confronting the real ones.”
“Happy to buy the stolen jewelry and donate it back to the Louvre. I mean Louvre Abu Dhabi, of course; no one steals from Louvre Abu Dhabi,” he added.
See the post here:
His comments come just days after the dramatic daylight robbery at the Louvre in Paris, where four thieves made off with jewels worth an estimated $102 million. The heist, one of the most audacious in recent memory, took place in the museum’s Apollo Gallery on October 19. The stolen pieces are part of the Royal Collection, including jewels once owned by Empress Eugénie and Empress Marie-Louise.
According to French authorities, the gang broke into the museum through a window using a ladder mounted on a lift truck. They reportedly cut through the glass with an angle grinder before fleeing on scooters. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the suspects worked in pairs and escaped within minutes. Investigators believe the theft was carried out by an organised crime group.
The stolen collection, valued at roughly €88 million ($102 million), included two crowns, two brooches, two necklaces (one of emeralds and one of sapphires), a pair of earrings, and a single earring. As of now, all four suspects remain at large.
