Russia Charges Telegram Founder Pavel Durov With Aiding Terrorist Activity

Ravie LakshmananJul 29, 2026Cybercrime / Law Enforcement

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) on Wednesday said it charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov for allegedly facilitating terrorist activities and for failing to remove prohibited information in violation of Russian law.

The principal security agency said the instant messaging platform "failed to remove numerous channels, chats, and bots on the platform that are actively used by Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organizations to plan and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations within the Russian Federation."

These actions have resulted in numerous casualties, including among women and children, as well as significant damage amounting to billions, it added.

Durov has been charged in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for aiding terrorist activity. He has also been placed on the international wanted list.

The FSB said it also found numerous instances where Ukrainian special services employed a Telegram chatbot named "Daivinchik/Leo-Dating, Chatting, and New Friends" to recruit Russian citizens for sabotage and terrorist activities through what it said were deception and psychological manipulation.

Per joint operations conducted with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee of Russia, 46 Russian citizens aged 12 to 22 were allegedly detained between July 2025 and the present. These individuals carried out armed attacks on law enforcement officers and acts of arson targeting transport, energy, communications, and financial infrastructure, it said.

"Additionally, they acted as couriers, transporting funds obtained from defrauded citizens to cryptocurrency exchange points for deposit into accounts controlled by the adversary," the agency said in a statement.

Furthermore, it accused Ukrainian intelligence agents of using the "Daivinchik" Telegram dating service to masquerade as young women and initiate online contact with young Russian men. Upon building romantic relationships, the men are said to have sent the geolocation of a desired meeting place, such as a large shopping mall or an area near a critical facility, and pay for movie tickets, concert tickets, or gifts via phishing links shared by the agents.

In the next phase, representatives of Ukrainian intelligence services posing as Russian law enforcement authorities or officials from Rosfinmonitoring, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, would contact the men through foreign messaging apps.

"These impostors claimed that the funds sent by the men had ended up in the accounts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and that the coordinates they had shared were being used by the enemy to plan missile strikes and drone attacks," the FSB alleged.

"The deceived and intimidated citizens - rendered unable to critically assess the situation due to psychological pressure - were then coerced under threat of criminal prosecution into carrying out armed attacks and acts of arson. These actions were ostensibly framed as checks on the counter-terrorism security of the targeted facilities or as participation in other 'pseudo-operational activities.'"

In response, Telegram's official account on X posted a photo of the Telegram founder giving the middle finger. Durov, who lives in Dubai, has not publicly commented on the development.

The charges come as Russia introduced a number of restrictions on Telegram, including throttling its use at the start of the year followed by a near-complete blockade in April 2026. Almost two years ago, Durov was also arrested and charged in France for failing to tackle illicit activity on the popular messaging platform.

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