Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism
Russia’s FSB charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism on July 29 and placed him on international wanted lists, alleging the platform failed to remove channels used to plan attacks.
Russian authorities charged Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism on Wednesday, July 29, and placed him on international wanted lists as Moscow intensified pressure on the messaging platform.
The Federal Security Service alleged that Telegram failed to remove channels, chats and automated accounts used by Ukrainian intelligence services and extremist groups to coordinate sabotage, killings and cyber fraud in Russia. The agency said it had detained 46 users aged between 12 and 22 over the past year in cases involving arson, assaults on law-enforcement officers and other alleged acts.
Durov, a 41-year-old Russian-born billionaire who lives in Dubai and holds French and Emirati citizenship, has previously said Moscow fabricated a criminal case to restrict Telegram and suppress privacy and free expression. Telegram did not immediately provide a formal response to the new charges.
The action comes amid a broader Russian campaign to control online communications since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia has blocked or restricted several foreign social and messaging services, while promoting the domestic Max platform.
Telegram says it has more than one billion users worldwide. The service remains widely used inside Russia, including by officials and military bloggers, despite earlier attempts by the authorities to block it.
