Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism

Russia has charged Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism over allegations the messenger app has been used for recruitment by Ukrainian secret services.

The FSB – Russia’s domestic security service – said Telegram had been used “to prepare and co-ordinate acts of sabotage and terror” inside Russia and had failed to remove channels, chats and bots used by Ukraine.

An international arrest warrant has been issued for the Russian-born Durov, who lives abroad.

Shortly after the charge was announced, Telegram’s account on X posted an image showing Durov holding up his middle finger. He has previously accused Russian authorities of “fabricating new pretexts to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram”.

Telegram is popular in Russia and is used by tens of millions of people, although authorities have been restricting access as part of a wider crackdown on internet freedom. The app is also popular in Ukraine.

Multi-billionaire Durov, 41, has lived outside of Russia for many years and holds French and United Arab Emirates (UAE) passports.

It is unclear whether other countries or authorities would comply with an arrest warrant issued by Russia.

Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the platform. He had previously founded popular Russian social media company VKontakte – dubbed the “Facebook of Russia”.

Telegram is used by around 950 million people worldwide and has previously positioned itself as an app focussed on its users’ privacy, rather than the normal policies prioritised by other global social media companies.

The platform has previously faced criticism of its app moderation, but has denied having insufficient practices.

Durov was arrested and placed under formal investigation in France in 2024 over allegations of failure to properly moderate the app to reduce criminality. He was allowed to go home months later, with the investigation continuing.