Russia's FSB accuses Telegram founder Pavel Durov of aiding terrorism, issues international arrest warrant

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, accusing him of failing to remove channels and bots used to coordinate terrorist attacks and sabotage in Russia, Interfax reported. The FSB added that Durov “is being placed on an international wanted list.”

The security service’s statement also said the app’s administration does not remove channels devoted to mass killings or cyber fraud, practices it said have led to “numerous human casualties,” including women and children, as well as to “material damages worth billions.” According to the FSB’s statement, Durov is under criminal investigation on a charge of facilitating terrorist activity (Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of Russia’s Criminal Code).

Durov himself wrote in late February 2026 that Russia had opened a criminal case against him for facilitating terrorism. “Each day, the authorities fabricate new pretexts to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram as they seek to suppress the right to privacy and free speech. A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,” he said at the time.

Russia began restricting Telegram’s operation in the summer of 2025. The app currently does not work without a VPN or other means of circumventing the blocks. On July 27, 2026, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s press secretary, said that contacts with Telegram about restoring its operation in Russia do exist, but that the app’s representatives themselves have not been very active.