Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov, according to state media reports.
Durov is being investigated in Russia as part of charges of facilitating terrorist activities, official state publication Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Tuesday, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly confirmed the investigation, saying the news was based on material from the FSB, which was “carrying out its tasks.”
The latest news adds to an ongoing pressure campaign against Telegram in Russia since state media regulator Roskomnadzor tightened restrictions on the messenger in early February.
Telegram had not responded to the reports by the time of publication. Cointelegraph reached out to Telegram for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Telegram refused to cooperate with Russian authorities.
The reported investigation is based on Telegram’s refusal to comply with Roskomnadzor’s demands for what it said was extremist content.
According to state-linked Komsomolskaya Pravda, Telegram has not removed about 155,000 channels, chats and bots locally flagged for illegal or harmful content.
The largest categories included 104,093 channels containing false information, 10,598 promoting extremism, 4,168 justifying extremist activities and 3,771 related to drugs.
German Klemenko, a former Russian presidential internet adviser, reportedly warned that the investigation could lead to the entire platform being labeled as extremist. He said it could criminalize payments for Telegram premium subscriptions and ads on the platform.
Durov accused Russia of attacking Telegram to promote the state-owned messenger.
Durov has previously said the push is aimed at driving users to a new state-backed messenger called MAX.
He added that other countries, including Iran, had tried similar strategies and failed. “Despite the ban, most Iranians still use Telegram and prefer it over surveilled apps,” Durov wrote on his Telegram channel on February 10.
“Restricting the freedom of citizens is never the right answer. Telegram stands for freedom of expression and privacy, no matter the pressure,” Durov added.
Related: TON Pay aims to turn Telegram into a crypto checkout layer for TON.
The Russian investigation comes as Durov remains under scrutiny abroad. Durov has also been part of an ongoing investigation in France since his arrest in August 2024.
French authorities lifted Durov’s travel ban in November 2025 after previously saying he could face up to 10 years in prison.
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