Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that it had charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities, and that it had issued an international warrant for his arrest.
The charges
The FSB said the charges related to Telegram’s failure to remove material that it claimed was misused by hostile actors.
According to the agency, the platform hosted content:
“used by Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations within the Russian Federation.”
There was no immediate comment from Durov or Telegram.
Telegram’s reach
Telegram is an encrypted messenger app founded in 2013 that says it has more than 1 billion users.
The service is widely used on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has made it a point of contention for Moscow.
Russia has repeatedly tried to restrict Telegram’s use in recent years, while promoting its own state-backed MAX messenger service as an alternative.
Durov’s background
Durov was born in Russia but now holds Emirati and French passports.
Before Telegram, he founded VKontakte, Russia’s equivalent of Facebook, before selling his remaining stake in 2014 amid pressure from Russian authorities.
He is also facing scrutiny elsewhere. French authorities are investigating Durov over allegations that Telegram failed to adequately counter criminal activity on the platform and did not sufficiently cooperate with law enforcement requests.
Durov denies any wrongdoing.
