Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Telegram founder Durov under a terrorism-related charge

Russia's FSB has issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram founder Pavel Durov and charged him with aiding terrorist activities (under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code).

According to a statement by the FSB, the reason for this was that Telegram’s administration failed to remove the channels, chats, and bots used by “Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist, and extremist organizations” to plan and carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks in Russia, as well as mass killings and cyberfraud.

As of the time of this publication, Durov had not commented on the FSB’s statement on his official Telegram channels in Russian and English.

In February, *Rossiyskaya Gazeta* and *Komsomolskaya Pravda* reported that Russia was investigating Durov’s actions as part of a criminal case (citing “FSB materials”). Durov called this a “sad spectacle” at the time and stated that the Russian authorities were “inventing new pretexts to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram in an effort to suppress the right to privacy and freedom of speech.”

Durov left Russia in 2014. Shortly before leaving Russia, he obtained a passport from the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 2021, he also obtained citizenship in the UAE and France.

In the summer of 2025, Russia began “slowing down” Telegram: the messaging app’s performance became too slow to make calls within Russia. Since February 2026, the messaging app—which is one of the most popular in the country—has become virtually inaccessible without a VPN or proxy due to connection issues.

In 2024, Durov considered the possibility of an IPO for the company, but those plans were put on hold due to his prosecution in France, the Financial Times reported. Telegram’s revenue continues to grow, according to unaudited financial statements reviewed by the newspaper: they show that in the first half of 2025, Telegram’s revenue increased by more than 65% year-over-year, reaching $870 million. In March 2026, Durov announced the full repayment of bonds issued five years earlier. Some of these bonds may have been frozen in Russia due to Western sanctions, the Financial Times reported in January.

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