Moscow Escalates Case Against Telegram Founder

Russia has accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of aiding terrorism and has begun proceedings to place him on an international wanted list, according to the country's Federal Security Service (FSB).

The FSB claims Telegram failed to remove numerous channels, chats and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services, as well as terrorist and extremist organizations, to plan and coordinate attacks, cyber fraud and other criminal activities in Russia.

Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said it had sent Telegram more than 150,000 requests to remove illegal content but that the company failed to comply.

The FSB said criminal proceedings against Durov have been underway since February. He is accused under a provision of the Russian Criminal Code covering aiding terrorist activities, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Durov has rejected the allegations, describing them as politically motivated.

(TASS, EST)