Durov announced the redemption of Telegram's bonds. Their part could have been frozen by sanctions

Telegram fully redeemed the bonds it issued five years ago in 2021, the company's founder Pavel Durov wrote in his Telegram channel. Some of them may have been frozen in Russia due to Western sanctions, the Financial Times reported in January.

"We have built an innovative monetization strategy starting in 2021 and have reached profitability in 2024. As a result, our new bond offering last year was oversubscribed," Durov wrote.

In 2021, Telegram placed approximately $2.3 billion to $2.35 billion in bonds at 7% per annum maturing in March 2026, Investing reported in May 2025. In 2025, the company raised an additional approximately $1.7 billion through a new bond issue.

In January this year, the Financial Times (FT), citing sources, reported that Telegram's $500 million bonds were frozen in Russia due to Western sanctions. The company told investors that it would repay the frozen debt when it expired, after which the payment agent and bond depositary would decide whether bondholders in Russia could receive payment. However, following the FT story, Pavel Durov wrote in his Telegram channel that the messenger "does not depend on Russian capital." According to him, the recent $1.7 billion bond offering "did not involve any Russian investors," and the old bonds issued in 2021 are "mostly redeemed and do not pose a problem."

The purchase of Telegram bonds gave investors the opportunity to buy shares at a discount of up to 20% if the messenger decided to go public. In 2024, Durov was considering an IPO, but those plans were delayed due to his prosecution in France, the FT writes. In 2024, the Telegram founder, who also has French citizenship, was detained in France on charges of refusing to cooperate with investigators in cases related to illegal activities in the messenger. Durov denied any wrongdoing.

Last November, France lifted travel restrictions on Durov. In recent talks with some bondholders, Telegram said the company needed more clarity on the French case before it could proceed with an IPO, the Financial Times wrote.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor