The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been indicted under relevant articles of the Russian Criminal Code and placed on an international arrest warrant. The Russian side alleges that Telegram failed to remove channels, group chats, and bots used to coordinate sabotage, attacks, and online fraud.

Russian accusations

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that these accounts were used by Ukrainian special forces, terrorist organizations, and extremist groups. Russia also claimed that these activities resulted in deaths and significant property damage.

Durov had previously denied it.

When the case was initiated in February of this year, Durov stated on X that Russian authorities were "making up new pretexts" to restrict Telegram access. He called it a "tragedy unfolding in a country afraid of its own people."

Telegram and GRAM services

Following the announcement, a Telegram account posted a photo of Durov giving the middle finger on X. Meanwhile, Telegram announced this month that it would launch a native, non-custodial GRAM wallet to over 1 billion users. CoinGecko data shows that GRAM closed at $1.42 that day, down 2.5%.