Russian security services have placed Telegram founder Pavel Durov on an international wanted list, accusing him of enabling terrorism and extremism by failing to remove alleged criminal content from the messaging platform.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has formally charged Durov with facilitating terrorist activity and says an international arrest warrant has been issued, according to Russian news agency Interfax. The move marks a sharp escalation in Moscow’s long‐running dispute with Telegram over content moderation and user privacy.
Investigators in Russia claim Telegram did not take down channels, group chats and bots that, they allege, were used by Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist organisations and extremist groups. According to the FSB, those accounts were allegedly involved in coordinating attacks, recruiting supporters and carrying out cyber fraud, but were allowed to remain active on the platform.
Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Durov earlier this year. Responding in February in a post on X, Durov dismissed the investigation as politically driven and accused the Kremlin of trying to “pressure Telegram into limiting user privacy”. He said officials were inventing “new pretexts” on a daily basis to restrict access to the app as part of what he described as efforts to curb privacy and freedom of expression.
The new warrant extends the case far beyond Russia’s borders by seeking Durov’s arrest abroad while the criminal proceedings continue in Moscow. It comes on top of an existing criminal investigation in France, leaving the billionaire technology entrepreneur facing legal pressure from two governments over broadly similar concerns about how Telegram handles unlawful content.
Parallel French investigation
Outside Russia, Durov remains under investigation in France over allegations that Telegram has been used to facilitate organised crime, drug trafficking and cybercrime.
French authorities arrested Durov at Le Bourget Airport, near Paris, in August 2024. The detention unsettled cryptocurrency markets, with Toncoin – the token linked to The Open Network (TON) ecosystem originally developed by Telegram – falling more than 20% within 24 hours as investors reacted to uncertainty surrounding both Telegram and its broader blockchain ties.
French investigators argued at the time that Telegram’s moderation systems were not adequate to prevent criminal exploitation of the platform. Their inquiry has also examined suspected fraud, money laundering and the circulation of child sexual abuse material.
Although French officials later relaxed Durov’s travel restrictions and allowed him to leave the country earlier this year, the criminal probe remains open.
Durov has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In August 2025, he said holding the chief executive of a communications service legally accountable for offences committed by users created what he called an “unsound” legal precedent. He also claimed that in 2024 French investigators had not used established legal cooperation channels before seeking user data from Telegram, insisting the company complied with valid legal requests and operated moderation standards comparable to other major technology firms.
Privacy battle and global regulation
Long before Moscow’s latest move, Durov had framed his disputes with governments as part of a broader struggle over online privacy, encryption and state surveillance.
Writing on X in October 2025, he warned that authorities in several regions were advancing measures that, in his view, threatened to erode digital privacy under the banner of regulation and public safety. He pointed to digital identity schemes in the United Kingdom, mandatory age‐verification rules in Australia and the European Union’s proposed Chat Control legislation as examples of initiatives that could, he argued, weaken private communications.
Durov has said secure messaging services should resist becoming tools of mass surveillance while still complying with legitimate court‐approved requests. He has also criticised Germany, the United Kingdom and France for what he described as mounting pressure on online speech and user privacy.
His arguments have echoed wider concerns within parts of the cryptocurrency sector, where anonymity and privacy have been central values since Bitcoin’s emergence. Telegram has long maintained close links to that world through The Open Network, which Durov originally helped to develop before regulatory changes led to the project being separated from Telegram’s direct control.
Telegram policy shifts
Following Durov’s 2024 detention in France, Telegram introduced a series of policy revisions, including updated terms of service and a revised privacy policy. The company has said the changes were designed to clarify how it responds to lawful requests from police and prosecutors, and how it handles content that breaches its rules.
Despite those adjustments, Durov has repeatedly insisted Telegram will continue to prioritise user privacy while working with authorities that follow proper legal procedures.
The new Russian warrant now leaves the Telegram founder under simultaneous scrutiny from both Moscow and Paris, with each pursuing its own case centred on the platform’s handling of illegal content. Whether Russia’s international notice will lead to an arrest abroad remains unclear.
