According to a Reuters report citing the Russian news agency Interfax, Russia is accusing Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov of aiding terrorism.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has formally charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorist activities and announced an international arrest warrant for him.
The FSB stated that the accusations involved Telegram’s failure to remove content that Ukrainian special services and terrorist and extremist organizations allegedly used to prepare and coordinate sabotage, terrorist activities, and cyberfraud in Russia.
The FSB stated that certain content found on Telegram was used to organize illegal activities on Russian territory, and therefore, proceedings were initiated against Durov on charges of aiding terrorism.
Neither Durov nor Telegram commented on the allegations, and this development comes after Durov’s ongoing legal proceedings in France.
As you may recall, in August 2024, Durov was arrested in France and faced 12 charges, primarily related to allegations that inadequate content moderation on Telegram led to problems such as child sexual abuse and drug trafficking.
Durov, who was initially arrested, was later released but the legal process continues.
However, last month, The Open Network, Telegram’s native layer blockchain, changed the token’s name from Toncoin (TON) to Gram ($GRAM).
With the latest developments, the price of $GRAM has lost approximately 2% of its value, but it continues to trade at $1.40 at the time of writing.
*This is not investment advice.