Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Telegram Founder Pavel Durov
The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Wednesday that criminal proceedings had been opened against Pavel Durov, founder and head of the messaging service Telegram, under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. The provision covers assistance to terrorist activity. According to the FSB, Durov has simultaneously been placed on the international wanted list. The statement was first reported by the Interfax news agency, as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. A conviction in Russia carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Accusation
The FSB justifies the charge by saying that Telegram’s administration is failing to remove “numerous channels, chats and bots” which, according to the agency, are used by Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass killings and cyber fraud inside Russia. This, the FSB says, has resulted in numerous casualties – including, according to the agency, women and children – as well as material damage running into the billions.
These claims come exclusively from the Russian security service and cannot be independently verified. Telegram and Durov have not commented on the allegations so far. Durov had already disclosed in late February 2026 that an investigation was underway against him in Russia; at the time he accused the authorities of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram and to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech”.
From VKontakte Founder to Dubai-Based Entrepreneur
Durov, now 41, was born in Russia. In St. Petersburg he built VKontakte from 2006 onwards, the Russian equivalent of Facebook and still one of the country’s largest social networks. In 2014 he sold his remaining stake under pressure from the Russian authorities and left the country – triggered, by his own account, by demands from security agencies for user data, including data on Ukrainian protest groups.
He has run Telegram, which he founded in 2013 together with his brother Nikolai, from abroad ever since. According to the company’s own information, its headquarters are in Dubai, where Durov also lives. He now holds citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and of France. Telegram says it has more than one billion users.
Telegram in the Ukraine War
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Telegram has become a key piece of war infrastructure – on both sides. In Ukraine, the app ranks among the most important news sources overall: authorities, the military and President Volodymyr Zelensky communicate via their own channels, air-raid alert channels issue regional warnings of drone and missile attacks, and volunteer organisations use it to raise money for drones and equipment.
On the Russian side, the platform is dominated by the so-called Z-bloggers or milbloggers: war correspondents and military commentators, some with audiences in the millions, who support the war but also voice open criticism of the military leadership. At the same time, the Russian state distributes propaganda on a large scale through Telegram channels. Russian units have also reportedly used the messenger for coordination at the front – in March 2026, military bloggers reported that the command had ordered soldiers to uninstall the app after the FSB classified Telegram as a security risk.
It is precisely this dual role that lies at the centre of the Russian charges. In parallel with Wednesday’s announcement, the FSB pointed to a case in which 46 Russians were said to have been detained after allegedly being recruited by the Ukrainian side via a dating chatbot on Telegram.
Throttling, Million-Ruble Fines and the State Messenger MAX
The arrest warrant is the latest step in a longer escalation. Since August 2025, the media regulator Roskomnadzor has been restricting Telegram’s operations in Russia; in February 2026 the restrictions were tightened, on the grounds that the company was not complying with Russian law. Since the beginning of this year alone, law enforcement bodies say fines totalling more than 100 million rubles (around $1.3 million) have been imposed on Telegram, largely over content that was not deleted.
In parallel, the state is promoting its own, unencrypted messenger MAX. Telegram accuses the Russian authorities of using false pretexts to damage its business in order to clear the way for the state-backed competitor. FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov accused Durov in February of acting out of self-interest and condoning criminal activity on the platform. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that contacts on restoring Telegram were underway, but that the messenger’s representatives were not very active in them.
Under Pressure in France as Well
Separately, proceedings against Durov have been running in France since August 2024. He was detained at Paris-Le Bourget airport and subsequently charged on twelve counts – the core allegation being that Telegram does not act sufficiently against criminal activity on the platform and cooperates too little with the authorities. Durov rejects the accusations and has called his arrest “legally and logically absurd”. Since June 2025 he has been permitted to travel to Dubai under certain conditions.
Practical Effect Uncertain
How much the international wanted notice means in practice is an open question. Durov lives in the United Arab Emirates and holds a French passport alongside his Emirati one; Western states generally do not act on Russian wanted notices in politically charged cases. The move does, however, increase the pressure on his freedom of movement – and it fits into Moscow’s intensified efforts since 2022 to bring the Russian internet under state control.
