Russia is investigating Telegram founder Pavel Durov as part of a criminal case related to the alleged facilitation of terrorist activities, according to state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The report cites Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB.
The newspaper said Durov’s actions are being examined under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which covers assistance to terrorist activities. The article claims its information is based on materials provided by the FSB.
Durov could not be reached for comment following the report. In recent days, however, Telegram has rejected several accusations from Russian authorities. The company has denied claims that the platform enables criminal activity or that it has been compromised by Western or Ukrainian intelligence.
Telegram, which says it has more than 1 billion active users worldwide, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Russia’s state communications regulator has already placed restrictions on Telegram. Officials say the company failed to remove extremist content as required. Despite this, the messaging app remains widely used across Russia for both public channels and private conversations.
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At the same time, Moscow has been encouraging citizens to move to a state-backed messaging platform called MAX, which was launched nearly a year ago.
