Russia accuses Telegram founder of aiding terrorism in latest online crackdown
Russian authorities have officially charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and placed him on an international wanted list.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Wednesday that it has charged Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, with aiding terrorism. The FSB accused Telegram of failing to remove channels used by Ukrainian intelligence, terrorist, and extremist groups to coordinate sabotage, mass murder, and cyber fraud.
The FSB claimed that Kyiv used a dating chatbot on Telegram to recruit Russians for sabotage and terrorist acts, resulting in the detention of 46 users aged 12 to 22 over the past year for assaults on law enforcement, arson, and other crimes. Durov’s name has been added to international wanted lists. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment.
Telegram, which has over 1 billion users, declined to comment. Its official website posted an image of Durov raising his middle finger. Russia has previously banned Facebook, Instagram, and X, throttled YouTube, and blocked Signal, Viber, while restricting WhatsApp and Telegram. Attempts to block Telegram from 2018 to 2020 failed. Moscow is now promoting the Max messaging app, which openly shares user data with authorities and lacks end-to-end encryption.
Protests against the restrictions were suppressed. Military bloggers criticized the crackdown, saying Telegram is essential for Russian troops in Ukraine. The government initially promised not to restrict Telegram on the battlefield but later changed its stance, with President Putin agreeing that uncontrolled communication systems pose a danger.
Durov was arrested in Paris in 2024 on allegations of allowing criminal activity on the platform, including drug trafficking and child sexual abuse material. French authorities issued preliminary charges, but Durov returned to Dubai in March 2025. The Kremlin criticized France at the time.
Russia itself has been accused of using Telegram to coordinate arson and sabotage in Ukraine and Europe. A British man was recruited via Telegram, likely by Russian military intelligence, to set fire to a London warehouse and kidnap a pro-Ukraine billionaire. Dutch teenagers were arrested after Russian hackers asked them to map wifi networks in The Hague. Moscow denies involvement in European sabotage.
