NextFin News - Russian law enforcement agencies have formally opened a criminal investigation into Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of the messaging giant Telegram, on charges of aiding terrorist activities. According to The Moscow Times, the case is being pursued under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, following a series of reports from the Federal Security Service (FSB) that characterize the platform as a primary tool for NATO intelligence and the Ukrainian government. The investigation, which became public on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, marks a definitive rupture in the long-standing, uneasy truce between the tech mogul and the Kremlin.
The allegations are rooted in a massive data set compiled by Russian authorities. According to reports in Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda, the FSB claims that since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, over 153,000 crimes have been facilitated via Telegram, including 33,000 acts categorized as sabotage or extremism. Most notably, the authorities have linked the platform to the coordination of strikes that resulted in the deaths of nine high-ranking military officials, including Lieutenant Generals Igor Kirillov, Yaroslav Moskalik, and Fanil Sarvarov. Furthermore, the investigation cites the platform’s role in the Crocus City Hall attack and the assassination of Darya Dugina as evidence of a systemic failure to moderate dangerous content.
The technical crackdown has already begun. Roskomnadzor, the state communications regulator, initiated a 55% throttling of Telegram’s traffic on February 10, 2026, after the company reportedly failed to comply with orders to delete over 154,000 channels and bots. FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov recently stated that previous negotiations with Durov had proved fruitless, accusing the founder of prioritizing "selfish interests" over national security. This move comes at a sensitive time for global tech policy, as U.S. President Trump, inaugurated in early 2025, continues to advocate for a "reciprocal" approach to digital sovereignty, often clashing with international platforms that resist local law enforcement mandates.
From a structural perspective, the criminalization of Durov’s leadership represents the final stage of Russia’s "Sovereign Internet" project. For years, Telegram occupied a unique gray zone—acting as a vital tool for Russian military bloggers and state propaganda while simultaneously serving as a haven for dissent and international coordination. However, the data provided by the FSB suggests that the tactical utility of the platform no longer outweighs the perceived security risks. By citing the failure to remove 104,093 channels containing "unreliable information" and 10,598 calls for extremism, Moscow is signaling that it will no longer tolerate a dual-use infrastructure that it cannot fully audit in real-time.
The economic and geopolitical implications are profound. Telegram, which has long marketed itself on the ethos of privacy and resistance to state overreach, now finds itself squeezed between Western regulatory pressure and Eastern criminal prosecution. This "pincer movement" reflects a broader trend in 2026: the death of the neutral platform. As U.S. President Trump emphasizes a "U.S. First" digital policy that demands transparency from foreign-linked apps, and Russia moves to criminalize non-compliance, tech founders like Durov are losing the ability to operate as stateless entities. The 55% reduction in speed is likely a precursor to a total ban, intended to migrate the Russian user base to domestic alternatives like VK or specialized state-sanctioned tools.
Looking forward, the Durov investigation serves as a bellwether for the fragmentation of the global internet. We are entering an era of "Digital Realpolitik," where the technical architecture of a platform is viewed as a weapon system. If Durov is tried in absentia or if international warrants are issued, it will set a precedent that platform architects are personally liable for the encrypted traffic of their users—a move that could chill innovation in the privacy sector. For investors and analysts, the takeaway is clear: the era of the global, unregulated social utility is over, replaced by a fractured landscape where digital borders are as rigid and dangerous as physical ones.
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