Russia‘s Federal Security Service on Wednesday said it had charged Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of the Telegram messaging app, with aiding terrorist activities.
The agency also issued an international warrant for his arrest.
The FSB said the charge formed part of “an ongoing criminal investigation” against Durov.
Why is Russia charging Durov?
The security service accused Telegram’s management of failing to remove channels, chats and bots allegedly used to organize attacks and acts of sabotage inside Russia.
According to the FSB, Ukrainian intelligence services had used the platform to prepare and coordinate sabotage, terrorist attacks, mass killings and cyberfraud.
These actions, as well as crimes committed by what the FSB described as terrorist and extremist organizations, had allegedly caused numerous deaths, including those of women and children, as well as billions in material damage.
Soon after the news of the warrant broke, Telegram’s account on X posted a picture of Durov giving a middle finger to the camera.
What does Russia say about Telegram?
Russia began restricting Telegram’s operations in the country last August.
In February, communications regulator Roskomnadzor said Telegram was still failing to comply with Russian law and that restrictions would remain in place until the company met its requirements.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Russian courts have fined Telegram more than 100 million rubles (around $1,26 million, €1,1 million) since the beginning of this year, law enforcement sources told the Interfax news agency.
The penalties were imposed mainly for failing to remove content banned in Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said that officials had discussed restoring Telegram’s full operations, but claimed the company’s representatives had shown little initiative.
Who is Pavel Durov?
The Russian-born billionaire Durov, now based in Dubai, built the Telegram messaging app with his brother Nikolai and launched it in 2013. The platform currently boasts over a billion users.
Durov previously founded VKontakte, Russia’s leading social network.
The tech mogul left Russia in 2014 after resisting demands to hand over user data, and is currently based in Dubai.
He describes himself as a libertarian and has repeatedly clashed with governments seeking greater access to the platform.
Durov has promoted Telegram as a defender of privacy and free speech, while critics say weak moderation has allowed propaganda, disinformation and criminal activity to flourish.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
About The Author
