India, Oct. 2 -- Telegram founder Pavel Durov has claimed that he survived a poisoning attempt in 2018, but kept it a secret till now to focus on business priorities. In an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, the billionaire CEO said that he experienced severe pain all over his body after returning to his rented house and noticing a "strange neighbour" leaving something by his door.

"That was the only instant in my life that I thought I was dying," Durov told Fridman on Monday. "One thing I was certain about is, yeah, this is it," he said.

Durov recalled that he and his brother were developing the digital ledger through the project TON, and raised over $1.7 billion in three months when he was allegedly poisoned. He said that he arrive...