The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been charged in Russia under an article on facilitating terrorist activities. Russian law enforcement agencies have also announced that he has been placed on an international wanted list.
WHAT RUSSIAN SECURITY AGENCIES HAVE REPORTED
According to TASS, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia, the basis for the charges were claims that the administration of Telegram did not delete channels, chats, and bots which, according to the agency, were used by Ukrainian special services to prepare terrorist activities and other crimes on Russian territory.
The FSB also stated that through the dating service "Daivinchik/Leo", employees of Ukrainian special services allegedly got to know young Russians under the guise of girls, after which, according to the agency, they involved them in illegal activities.
WHAT DATA THE FSB PROVIDES
According to information from the FSB, since July 2025, in 16 regions of Russia, 46 people aged 12 to 22 have been detained. They are suspected of attacks on law enforcement officers, arson of infrastructure facilities, and transferring funds through crypto exchangers. Criminal cases have been opened regarding these facts, the agency reports.
The FSB also claims that the crimes, which according to the agency were committed using Telegram, resulted in numerous casualties and caused multi-billion dollar material damage.
According to lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov, Durov faces life imprisonment if his guilt is established.
PAVEL DUROV'S POSITION
Pavel Durov himself previously stated that the criminal prosecution and accusations from the Russian authorities are an attempt to find new grounds for restricting Russians' access to Telegram, as well as to put pressure on freedom of speech and the right to privacy.
At the time of publication, no separate position from representatives of Telegram regarding the information about Durov being placed on the international wanted list has been provided.
