Russia investigating Telegram founder Durov as part of criminal case, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports

Russia is investigating Telegram founder Pavel Durov as part of a criminal ‌case on the “facilitation of terrorist activities”, state-run ‌newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB). Durov could not ​be immediately reached for comment on the report, but in recent days Telegram has denied a host of allegations by Russia that the app is a haven ‌for criminal activity ⁠and compromised by both Western and Ukrainian intelligence. “The actions of the head of Telegram, ⁠P.

Durov, are being investigated as part of a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under ​Part 1.1 ​of Article 205.1 (assistance to ​terrorist activities) of the ‌Criminal Code of Russia,” Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported in an article it said was “based on materials from the FSB of Russia”. Telegram, which says it has more than 1 billion active users globally, did not immediately respond to ‌a Reuters request for comment. Moscow is trying to get Russians to ​switch to the ‌state-backed app known as MAX, which launched almost ​a year ago.