Pavel Durov Wanted by Russia: Telegram Founder Charged With Aiding Terrorism

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, that it has charged Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov with aiding terrorist activity and placed him on an international wanted list. The charge falls under Russia's criminal code provisions on aiding terrorism, and a conviction could carry a sentence of up to life in prison.

According to the FSB's statement, Telegram allegedly failed to remove channels, chats, and bots that Ukrainian intelligence services used to recruit Russian citizens for armed attacks and arson targeting transport, energy, communications, and financial infrastructure. The investigation reportedly began in February 2026.

Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia, relocated Telegram's headquarters to Dubai in 2017 along with his brother Nikolai and has lived outside Russia for years. The new charges come as Moscow has escalated restrictions on Telegram throughout 2026, moving from throttling the app's speed early in the year to a near-total blockade by April.

Telegram's response was notably informal: the company's official account on X posted an image of Durov giving a middle-finger gesture, without issuing a formal written statement from either Durov or the company.

This marks the second major legal entanglement for Durov in under two years. He was arrested at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in August 2024 and indicted in France on twelve charges, including complicity in drug trafficking and the spread of child sexual abuse material — a case that remains ongoing and, according to available reporting, has not been formally linked to Russia's new terrorism allegations.

Together, the French case and the fresh charges from Russia place Durov at the center of one of today's most closely watched intersections of digital freedom, national security, and state efforts to control the online space — a story millions of Telegram users worldwide are following closely.