Russia announced today that it issued an international wanted notice for Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov over accusations of “complicity in terrorism.”
Russian-born Durov — a serial tech founder who has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and UAE passports — has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet space.
His Telegram messenger is one of the country’s main communications platforms and officials have repeatedly tried to block access or thwart its success in a bid to pressure Durov to hand over user data or push Russians to use an unencrypted state-backed alternative.
“An international wanted notice has been issued… for the head of the Telegram administration, P. Durov,” Russian security services (FSB) said in a statement.
Moscow frequently targets its political enemies on charges of supporting “terrorism” or “extremism”.
It alleged Telegram had been used as a recruitment platform for Ukrainian security services looking to coerce Russians to commit sabotage acts and that Durov had not removed “prohibited information”.
Durov, 41, lives in France, where he has also faced legal issues over allegations over the spread of illegal content on Telegram.
Born in Saint Petersburg — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s home city — Durov founded VKontakte, a social media site widely known as “Russia’s Facebook”.
He was essentially forced out of the company as it came under pressure from the authorities in the mid 2010s and founded Telegram.
