Russia Charges Telegram Founder Durov With Aiding Terrorism
Russia has charged Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism. Durov is the founder and CEO of Telegram.
Telegram is a widely used messaging and media app. Russia's security service is called the FSB.
The FSB accused Durov of not removing certain channels chats and bots. It said Ukraine used these to recruit people for sabotage.
After the charges Russia placed Durov on an international wanted list. The FSB said Telegram failed to remove content linked to groups.
It said this caused many human casualties. Russia also accused Ukrainian services of using a dating chatbot on Telegram.
Officials say this was used to recruit Russians. This reportedly led to 46 detentions since July 2025.
Those detained were between ages 12 and 22. If convicted in Russia Durov could face life in prison.
He also faces a separate legal investigation in France. That case involves Telegram's handling of criminal activity on the app.
Key Terms 3
- FSB Russia's main security and intelligence service.
- Telegram A popular messaging and media app used worldwide.
- sabotage Deliberate acts to damage or disrupt something, often for war purposes.