Russia issues an arrest warrant for the founder of Telegram
Moscow has charged Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities via the platform and has issued an international arrest warrant
Russia is stepping up the pressure on Telegram even further. The Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged the platform’s founder, Pavel Durov, on charges of facilitating terrorist activities, claiming that the app had failed to removed content used by the Ukrainian secret services and extremist groups to organise acts of sabotage, attacks and cyber fraud on Russian territory. According to reports from the Interfax news agency, Moscow has also issued an international arrest warrant for the entrepreneur.
The investigation marks a new chapter in the clash between the Kremlin and Telegram, an app with over a billion users that has become one of the main communication tools during the war in Ukraine, used by both civilians and the military. For months, the Russian authorities have been accusing the platform of failing to cooperate in removing content deemed extremist and have been promoting the adoption of the national app MAX as an alternative.
Durov, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and France, has been living outside Russia since 2014, having relinquished control of the social network VK following pressure from the Kremlin. Neither he nor Telegram have issued any immediate comments on the new allegations. Meanwhile, the platform’s founder is also still under investigation in France for alleged failings in content moderation and cooperation with the judicial authorities – charges which he has consistently denied.
