Russia Puts Pavel Durov on Wanted List as GRAM Falls Below $1.40

Russian authorities have placed Telegram founder Pavel Durov on an international wanted list over allegations of facilitating terrorist activity. Given Telegram’s close connection with The Open Network, the question is whether the case has affected the native token $GRAM.

Russia escalates case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of facilitating terrorist activity and said officials had placed him on an international wanted list.

According to a statement from the FSB, Durov has been formally charged and an international warrant has been issued for his arrest. However, the agency did not specify which wanted list it was referring to.

Durov’s name was not visible in Interpol’s public Red Notice database at the time of writing.

The FSB alleges that Telegram failed to remove channels, group chats, and automated bots that were allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist groups, and extremist organizations. Russian authorities say these tools were used to plan attacks, recruit people, and carry out cyber fraud.

This follows a criminal case opened against Durov in February. At the time, he described the investigation as another attempt by Russian authorities to pressure Telegram and restrict access to private communication and free speech.

Durov is also under investigation in France over allegations that Telegram enabled illegal activity. The latest escalation adds another layer of legal scrutiny around Telegram’s operations, which matters for readers following $GRAM because the token is closely tied to the wider The Open Network ecosystem, even though the article does not establish a direct causal link between the case and the day’s move.

$GRAM falls nearly 4%

The news coincided with short-term selling pressure in $GRAM. The token fell from around $1.45 to $1.40, a decline of roughly 3.5%.

$GRAM was trading at $1.3984 at the time of writing. Its RSI stood at 32.18, putting it close to oversold territory and indicating weak buying momentum. The MACD was also negative, suggesting sellers still had the upper hand.

However, the news emerged only a few hours ago, so the immediate move may still reflect headline reaction rather than a settled trend. For now, the market reaction underscores how closely developments involving Telegram’s founder can be watched by traders in tokens associated with The Open Network.