Russia’s FSB Charges Telegram Founder Durov with Facilitating Terrorism, Issues International Arrest Warrant

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and issued an international warrant for his arrest, the agency announced on Wednesday.

The charges stem from Telegram’s alleged failure to remove content that Russian authorities say was used by Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist groups and extremist organisations to coordinate sabotage, terrorist attacks, mass killings and cyberfraud inside Russia. According to the FSB, Telegram’s administration violated Russian law by leaving active numerous channels, chats and bots on the messaging platform that were used to plan attacks.

The criminal case falls under Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carries a sentence of eight to 15 years in prison, with the possibility of life imprisonment. The FSB has accused Telegram of failing to comply with more than 150,000 requests from Russia’s media and telecommunications watchdog to remove illegal content.

Decades of Crimes Allegedly Coordinated via Telegram

The FSB alleges that since 2022, 153,000 crimes committed using Telegram have been recorded in Russia. These include the organisation of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, the murders of Daria Dugina, Maxim Fomin (Vladlen Tatarsky), and nine high-ranking defence officials, including Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov. The FSB also claims to have prevented 475 terrorist attacks that were being planned via Telegram, including 61 mass killings by teenagers in schools. Additionally, approximately 700 direct threats against family members of Russian servicemen were recorded.

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The FSB has detained 46 users of a Telegram dating chatbot, aged between 12 and 22, across Russia since July 2025 on charges of assaulting law enforcement officers, arson and other offences.

Durov’s Response and Background

Shortly after the charges were announced, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of Durov holding up his middle finger. Durov has previously accused Russian authorities of trying to “fabricate pretexts” for a total ban on Telegram.

Durov, 41, was born in Russia and founded Telegram in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 and moved to Dubai in 2017, where he relocated Telegram’s headquarters. He holds French and United Arab Emirates citizenship and currently resides in France, where authorities are also investigating him over Telegram’s alleged failure to remove illegal content and cooperate with judicial authorities. Durov was arrested in France in August 2024 and indicted as part of that investigation, though he was released later that year.

What This Means for Telegram in Russia

Telegram has approximately 90 million users in Russia. Russian state regulators have already introduced restrictions on the platform, including slowing download speeds and blocking video and voice calls, making it increasingly difficult to use without a virtual private network. The FSB’s charges against Durov mark a significant escalation in Moscow’s long-standing campaign against the popular messaging platform.

It remains unclear whether other countries would comply with Russia’s request for Durov’s extradition through Interpol.

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