Russia issues arrest warrant for Telegram founder Durov

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, that it has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorist activity and issued an international warrant for his arrest. The agency alleges the encrypted messaging platform failed to remove content used by Ukrainian special services and extremist organizations to coordinate attacks, sabotage, and cyber fraud within Russia.

The FSB stated the charges relate to Telegram's alleged inaction against specific channels, chats, and bots. In one detailed allegation, the service claimed Ukrainian agents used a dating channel on the platform to recruit Russian citizens, coercing at least 48 individuals, some as young as 12, into carrying out crimes like arson or acting as couriers. The FSB asserted that Telegram has been used in over 153,000 crimes since 2022.

Durov, who holds Emirati and French citizenship and resides outside Russia, has frequently clashed with Russian authorities as they have tightened control over the internet. Officials have repeatedly tried to pressure him to hand over user data or to promote Russia's state-backed MAX messaging service instead. The platform has been fined more...