Russia stepped up its effort to assert authority over the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday, announcing in a state-run newspaper that billionaire founder Pavel Durov is being investigated in a criminal case involving accusations of assisting terrorism, Reuters reported.
The report in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, which it said was based on Federal Security Service materials, described Telegram as “a tool for hybrid threats” used by NATO, Ukraine, radicals, and terrorists, and stated that Durov’s actions are being examined under Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said authorities had recorded numerous violations and a lack of cooperation from Telegram’s administration.
The investigation comes as Russia expands its digital controls during the war in Ukraine, tightening restrictions on VPNs and messaging apps and intermittently slowing or blocking Telegram services.
Durov, a 41-year-old billionaire now living in the United Arab Emirates, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition communities on his VK platform and has since criticized restrictions in both Russia and Europe, including after his 2024 arrest in France.
Russia’s FSB has also claimed that Ukraine’s armed forces and intelligence services are harvesting data from the app, including from Russian soldiers who use it.
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