Russia announced on Wednesday that it was seeking the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of complicity in terrorism, alleging he allowed the messaging platform to be used for recruitment by Ukraine’s security services.
The Russian-born Durov who is a serial tech founder and has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet.
His Telegram messenger is one of the country’s main communications platforms and officials have repeatedly tried to block access or thwart its success in a bid to pressure Durov to hand over user data or push Russians to use an unencrypted state-backed alternative.
The Russian Federal Security Service said it had launched international search proceedings, although it was unclear what kind of wanted notice Russia had issued and whether other countries or law enforcement bodies would accept or comply with it.
“An international wanted notice has been issued for the head of the Telegram administration, P. Durov,” it said in a statement.
Moscow frequently targets political enemies on charges of supporting “terrorism” or “extremism”, including those who have left the country.
The FSB alleged Telegram had been used as a recruitment platform for Ukrainian security services looking to coerce Russians to commit sabotage acts and that Durov had not removed prohibited content from the platform.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using social media to recruit people to support them in the four-and-a-half-year war.
Durov, 41 lives in France, where he has also faced legal issues over allegations concerning the spread of illegal content on Telegram.
Born in Saint Petersburg — President Vladimir Putin’s home city — Durov founded VKontakte, a social media site widely known as “Russia’s Facebook”.
He was essentially forced out of the company as it came under pressure from the authorities in the mid 2010s and founded Telegram, a social media platform and private messenger.
Telegram quickly became one of the most used online services in Russia and easily thwarted a years-long attempt by Moscow’s internet authorities to block access inside the country.
This year, the VKontakte social network which is now controlled by the state and known as VK has been pushing government-backed messenger Max, urging Russians to switch from Telegram and WhatsApp.
Durov has criticsed Max describing it as “a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship”.
