Mumbai–Russia’s Federal Security Service charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity Wednesday and issued an international warrant for his arrest.
The FSB accused Telegram of failing to remove content allegedly used to coordinate sabotage, terrorism, mass killings and cyber fraud inside Russia. Neither Durov nor Telegram immediately responded to the allegations.
Russian authorities said Ukrainian intelligence services and terrorist and extremist organizations had used material on the platform to plan and coordinate illegal activities.
Telegram, an encrypted messaging service founded by Durov in 2013, has more than 1 billion users worldwide. The platform has become an important source of information during the Russia-Ukraine war and is widely used by people on both sides of the conflict.
The charges represent the latest escalation in Moscow’s efforts to exert greater control over Telegram. Russian authorities have repeatedly sought to reduce the platform’s influence while promoting MAX, a state-backed messaging service, as a domestic alternative.
Durov was born in Russia and later obtained citizenship in the United Arab Emirates and France. He previously founded the Russian social networking platform VKontakte and sold his remaining stake in 2014 after coming under increasing pressure from Russian authorities.
The Russian case adds to Durov’s legal challenges in France, where authorities are investigating whether Telegram failed to adequately restrict criminal activity and cooperate with law enforcement requests.
Durov has denied wrongdoing in connection with the French investigation. (Source: IANS)
