Russia issues arrest warrant for Telegram founder Pavel Durov

Russia has escalated its case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov by adding him to Rosfinmonitoring’s registry of terrorists and extremists one day after the FSB opened a criminal case accusing him of aiding terrorist activity. The move exposes Durov personally to asset freezes and financial service cutoffs inside Russia, while leaving Telegram as a company outside the scope of that listing. Durov answered with a public statement on Telegram, saying Russia had designated him a terrorist for refusing state demands for mass surveillance and censorship on the platform. He followed that with an image contrasting his own listing with Russia’s treatment of the Taliban, whose representatives he labeled “respected partners” after Russia’s Supreme Court removed the group from the same registry in April 2025. The FSB alleges Telegram failed to remove channels, chats and bots that Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist organizations and extremist groups used to organize attacks, sabotage, mass killings and cyber fraud inside Russia. Durov, 41, remains on an international wanted list and faces a possible life sentence under the Russian case, even as officials had reportedly been negotiating with Telegram days earlier. The confrontation deepens a long-running clash between Durov and the Kremlin over censorship, surveillance and platform control, and adds to the still-open French investigation tied to Telegram’s moderation and law-enforcement cooperation. Enforcement remains uncertain because Durov lives in Dubai, holds French and UAE citizenship, and any arrest abroad would require cooperation Russia has not secured. French prosecutors lifted his travel restrictions in November. Markets showed little immediate stress. GRAM, the Telegram-linked token rebranded from Toncoin in June, traded near $1.42, up 1.7% over 24 hours, suggesting investors are watching practical enforcement risks more closely than headline legal escalation.