Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Telegram CEO

Russian authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday (29 July) local time. Moscow has charged Durov with “involvement in terrorism”.

Durov, who was born in Russia, as reported by AFP and Reuters on Wednesday, is a prominent technology entrepreneur who has lived abroad for years and is known to hold French and United Arab Emirates passports.

Durov has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its control over the internet.

The Telegram messaging app created by Durov has become one of the main communication platforms in Russia. Moscow has repeatedly attempted to block access to or hinder the app’s success, in order to pressure Durov to hand over user data or push Russian citizens towards alternative, state-backed services without encryption.

“An international search notice has been issued… against the head of Telegram’s administration, P Durov,” the Russian Security Service (FSB) said in a statement.

Moscow frequently targets its political opponents with accusations of supporting “terrorism” or “extremism”.

In Durov’s case, the FSB accused Telegram of being used as a recruitment tool by Ukrainian security services to coerce Russian citizens into committing acts of sabotage. Durov was charged with facilitating terrorist activity because he failed to remove “prohibited information”.

The FSB explained that the charges relate to Telegram’s failure to remove material “used by Ukrainian special services and terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyber fraud operations on the territory of the Russian Federation”.

There has been no immediate response from Durov or Telegram.

Durov, who now lives in France, also faces separate legal problems related to accusations of illegal content circulating on Telegram.

Durov, who was born in Saint Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin’s home city, previously founded VKontakte, widely known as “Russia’s Facebook”. However, he was forced out of the company as pressure from the Moscow authorities intensified in the mid-2010s, after which he founded Telegram.