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Russia has launched a probe of Telegram founder, Pavel Durov for allegedly abetting terrorist activities, following the breakdown in talks with the tech billionaire.
Articles published on Tuesday by state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda claimed Telegram had become “the main instrument” of NATO countries and Ukraine’s intelligence service.
Citing information from the FSB security service, the reports blame Telegram for attacks in Russia, where the Dubai-based app has more than 100 million monthly users.
The social network was supposedly used in 13 Ukrainian attempts to eliminate senior Russian military officers, and for “bombings, arson attacks on recruitment centres, and murders” since the war began.
Telegram is also accused of complying with orders from Western governments while ignoring requests from Russia, which had limited voice and video calls on Telegram and WhatsApp in 2025.
“Russia has opened a criminal case against me for ‘aiding terrorism,'” Durov wrote in a statement, calling the investigation “a sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people.”
Durov said the authorities fabricate new pretexts each day, primarily to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram, “as they seek to suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”
The 41-year-old entrepreneur insists Moscow is targeting his platform solely to divert citizens to use the state-controlled app Max “for surveillance and political censorship.”
Durov gained French and Emirati citizenship after leaving Russia in 2014, when he revealed that the Kremlin forced him to sell his stake in VK, the country’s largest social media.
Meanwhile, the French probe of Telegram remains active. The alleged offenses include enabling illicit transactions, drug trafficking, sensitive materials’ distribution, unlawful cryptography services, etc.
The judicial supervision barring Durov from leaving France was lifted in November 2025, but he reportedly still has to return to the country periodically as part of the ongoing inquiry.
France is similarly investigating Elon Musk for a litany of violations involving X, formerly Twitter, and its Grok AI. The Paris prosecutor’s office has fixed April 20 for the questioning of the world’s richest man.
Russia probes Telegram founder, Pavel Durov for ‘aiding terrorism’
