Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has formally charged Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, with facilitating terrorist activity and placed him on an international wanted list, escalating a criminal case that first surfaced in February 2026.

The move adds a second major legal front for Durov, who is also facing an ongoing criminal investigation in France. At the time of writing, Durov had not issued a statement.

GRAM, formerly TON and the native token of Telegram, fell by nearly 2.5% following news of the Russian terrorism charges. The token was trading at $1.41.

RUSSIA CHARGES TELEGRAM FOUNDER PAVEL DUROV WITH AIDING TERRORISM, DUROV RESPONDS WITH MIDDLE FINGER Russia’s FSB has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and placed him on an international wanted list, accusing the platform of failing to remove channels… — Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) July 29, 2026

What Russia Is Alleging

The FSB told the local news agency Interfax on Wednesday that Telegram’s administration failed to remove channels, chats, and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist groups, and extremist organizations to coordinate attacks, recruit operatives, and carry out cyber fraud inside Russia.

The charge of facilitating terrorist activity carries serious criminal weight under Russian law, which helps explain why the case has drawn attention beyond Telegram itself: when a platform sits at the center of a large crypto ecosystem and a global user base, legal pressure on its founder can quickly spill over into broader questions about operations, compliance, and user trust. As part of the case, authorities issued an international arrest warrant.

When the criminal case was first opened in February 2026, Durov addressed it in a post on X, saying that the authorities were inventing new pretexts each day to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram as they sought to suppress the right to privacy and free speech.

The French Case Remains Open

The Russian warrant comes as Durov remains under a separate criminal investigation in France over alleged illegal activity on Telegram. French authorities lifted his travel restrictions earlier this year, allowing him to leave the country, but the underlying case remains active.

The two cases raise broader questions about whether a platform operator bears legal responsibility for how the platform is used, though the allegations differ in scope. The French investigation concerns alleged illegal activity on Telegram, while the Russian case centers on the FSB’s claim that Telegram failed to remove content allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist groups, and extremist organizations.

Russia’s FSB Accuses Telegram Founder Pavel Durov of Aiding Terrorism According to Reuters, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has formally accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of aiding terrorist activities and issued an international arrest warrant for him. The FSB said… pic.twitter.com/F5rXAzhTJY — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 29, 2026

Why It Matters for Telegram’s Crypto Ecosystem

Durov’s legal exposure is relevant to holders and users of assets connected to the TON ecosystem, given Telegram’s role in that space. Telegram has announced plans to roll out a native Gram crypto wallet for users, making the company’s product roadmap more visible to crypto users even as its founder faces legal pressure in more than one jurisdiction.

Any scenario involving government pressure, operational disruption, or leadership instability at Telegram could affect that ecosystem. The cases against Durov are being closely watched as legal and regulatory pressure on messaging platforms and their founders continues across multiple jurisdictions.

GRAM Token Falls on the News

$GRAM aka $TON looks about to blast pic.twitter.com/JTRl9gldcz — Eunice D Wong (@Eunicedwong) July 22, 2026

GRAM coin, formerly TON, dropped nearly 3% over the past 24 hours to $1.42 after the report of a warrant for Pavel Durov in Russia.

Daily trading volume for GRAM was $44.6 million, up from $41 million the previous day. The asset was the 24th-largest digital asset by market cap, at $3.86 billion.

The article also said $1.50 was acting as strong resistance and would need to be broken for any move toward $2, while $1.40 was the key support level, with the $1.30 range absent from the GRAM chart since May 2026.

GRAM was down more than 11% over the past month. The report said the only catalyst likely to reverse that trend would be positive news regarding Pavel Durov’s terrorism case in Russia.