(AP) – Russian authorities said Wednesday they had charged Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, with aiding terrorism, the latest step by the Kremlin to bring the internet and digital communications under its control.

The charges against the Russian-born Durov, who lives abroad, came as authorities have sought to restrict the use of Telegram as part of a widespread crackdown on online freedom that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a statement it had accused Telegram’s administration of failing to remove “numerous channels, chats and bots” allegedly used by “Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyber fraud” in Russia, which resulted in “numerous human casualties.”

The FSB accused Ukrainian security services of using a popular dating chatbot on Telegram to lure and recruit Russians for “sabotage and terrorist activities,” and said 46 users of the chatbot, from 12 to 22 years old, have been detained in Russia over the past year for assaulting law enforcement officers, arson and other acts.

It also said it was adding the name of the 41-year-old billionaire to international wanted lists.

Durov had said earlier this year that Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation against him, and he accused them of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”

If convicted, he could face up to life in prison in Russia.

Telegram, which boasts of more than 1 billion users worldwide, did not respond to a request for comment. Its official website links to an account on X that on Wednesday posted am image of Durov raising a middle finger to the camera.

Telegram’s website says that the company is based in Dubai and that Durov, who holds dual citizenship in France and the United Arab Emirates, lives there, too.

Russia has sought to censor the internet
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russian authorities have engaged in multipronged efforts to rein in the internet, adopting restrictive laws and banning websites and platforms that don’t comply and focused on improving technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and X, have been banned in Russia; YouTube has been throttled; popular messaging apps, such as Signal and Viber, have been blocked, and the most popular ones — WhatsApp and Telegram — have been restricted.

Russia’s popular Facebook-like social media platform Vkontakte, founded by Durov long before he launched Telegram, had come under the control of Kremlin-friendly companies. Russia tried to block Telegram between 2018-20 but failed.

While it’s still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, many of them are routinely blocked, too.

At the same time, Russia actively promotes what it calls a “national” messaging app known as MAX, which critics say could be used for surveillance. The platform is touted as a one-stop shop for messaging, getting online government services, making payments and other activities. It openly says it will share user data with authorities upon request, and experts also say it doesn’t use end-to-end encryption.

The Telegram restrictions have elicited widespread discontent in Russia, and this year activists in multiple regions tried to organize protests against it, but authorities quashed nearly all their attempts.

Military bloggers also have denounced the crackdown, arguing the app is an indispensable communications tool for Russian troops in Ukraine and for activists running crowdfunding campaigns to help Moscow’s forces.

The government initially promised not to restrict Telegram on the battlefield, but a different message later came from the Kremlin. At a meeting with Putin for International Women’s Day, a servicewoman called Telegram “an adversarial communications tool” and agreed with him when he said that “the use of communications systems that are not ours, not under our control, poses a danger to personnel” in battle.

Durov was arrested in France in 2024
In 2024, Durov was arrested in Paris amid allegations that his platform was being used for illicit activity, including drug trafficking and the distribution of images of child sexual abuse. French authorities handed him preliminary charges for allegedly allowing criminal activity on the platform. In March 2025, Durov said he had returned to Dubai after spending “several months” in France.

The Kremlin at the time criticized the French authorities for their move against Durov as selective. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that “yes, indeed, terrorists use Telegram. But terrorists also use cars. Why aren’t they arresting the CEO of Renault or Citroen?”

Peskov didn’t respond to a request for comment on what made Russian authorities change their position.

The Paris prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press that Durov remains under formal investigation, facing an array of potential charges for alleged criminal activities linked to Telegram. French investigators have questioned him repeatedly, most recently this month, the office said in written comments Wednesday.

Russia is accused of using Telegram as a recruitment tool
Russia itself has faced accusations of using Telegram coordinate and recruit people to carry out acts of arson and sabotage in Ukraine and across Europe. In the U.K., a British man was recruited, likely by Russian military intelligence, on the platform to organize a plot in 2024 to set fire to a warehouse in London containing satellite equipment for Ukraine. He was also asked to kidnap a pro-Ukrainian exiled Russian billionaire living in London.

Dutch teenagers were arrested in the Netherlands in September after being contacted by Russian hackers on Telegram who wanted them to map Wi-Fi networks in The Hague. The city is the location of many sensitive organizations, including the International Criminal Court — which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin — as well as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and Europol which helps European countries fight international crime.

Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in acts of sabotage in Europe.