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VKontakte Founder Sighted at SPIEF Event

Pavel Durov, the founder of Russia's largest social network VKontakte, made an appearance at a party during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Kommersant reported Friday.

Earlier media reports speculated that he fled the country following his implication in a traffic incident that left a policeman slightly injured.

Durov attended a party in celebration of MegaFon's 20th anniversary on Thursday evening at the St. Petersburg Ethnological Museum, Kommersant reported.

His arrival was not a complete surprise since Durov was included on the list of the forum's guests. However, it was his first public appearance since he was accused of running into a police officer in central St. Petersburg.

The officer approached a driver of a white Mercedes on April 5 after he broke several traffic laws. Instead of stopping, the driver made a rude jest, bumped into the officer with his car and drove off.

Local activists speculated that Durov was behind the wheel, which led the authorities to contemplate criminal charges.

VKontakte's press service denied Durov's involvement in the accident and said that he always walks to work.

Earlier this month investigators said that the April incident was reclassified and the guilty party would not be criminally charged because they could not prove that the actions were deliberate.

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