Russia investigating Telegram founder Durov as part of criminal case: report

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).

Mr. 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.

Russia’s state communications regulator has introduced restrictions on ‌Telegram, which is hugely popular in ​Russia for public and private communications, over what it says is ⁠a failure by the company to delete ⁠extremist content.

Moscow is trying to get Russians to switch to ‌the state-backed app known as MAX, which launched almost a year ​ago.