Claim of ‘abetting terrorist activities’ comes as Kremlin attempts to steer users on to state-controlled app
Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities”, further escalating the Kremlin’s standoff with the widely used messaging app.
The state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Tuesday that a case had been opened “based on materials from Russia’s federal security service”, which accused the app of being compromised by western and Ukrainian intelligence.
Earlier this month, Moscow announced it would slow down Telegram’s traffic because of what it said were multiple violations, as the Kremlin attempts to steer tens of millions of Russian users towards a state-controlled alternative, known as MAX.
The strategy forms part of the Kremlin’s push to build a “sovereign internet”, an online space tightly controlled by the state.
