Russia has intensified pressure on Telegram following reports that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has launched a criminal investigation into Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of the messaging platform, on allegations related to terrorism.

It comes amid a broader tightening of state controls over Telegram, which Russian regulators accuse of serving as a hub for criminal activity, The Caspian Post reports, citing the government newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta.

According to documents cited by the publication, the FSB claims intelligence services from NATO countries and Ukraine are using Telegram as part of a “hybrid warfare” strategy against Russia. Authorities allege the platform has been used to coordinate political unrest, as well as terrorist and sabotage operations.

The FSB also accuses Telegram of refusing to hand over encryption keys that would grant security services access to messages exchanged by suspected criminals. Officials argue that this refusal has enabled deadly attacks inside Russia, including the assassinations of senior military officers and terrorist incidents such as the March 2024 mass shooting at Crocus City Hall near Moscow.

“Pavel Durov’s actions are being investigated as part of a criminal case under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1, ‘assistance to terrorist activity,’” Komsomolskaya Pravda reported. If convicted, the charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

Durov, who resides in Dubai and holds French and UAE citizenship, has rejected the allegations. In a post on X, he accused Russian authorities of attempting to “fabricate pretexts” to justify a complete ban on Telegram.

“They seek to suppress the right to privacy and free speech. A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,” he wrote.

Russian authorities maintain that increased restrictions on messaging services such as Telegram and WhatsApp are necessary due to mounting security threats, including attacks they attribute to Ukraine and its allies. While Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have publicly sought to recruit Russian citizens in recent years, none have claimed responsibility for killings or sabotage operations inside the country.

Telegram, which reportedly has around 90 million users in Russia, has become increasingly difficult to access without a virtual private network (VPN). The state media regulator Roskomnadzor has slowed download speeds and blocked video and voice calls on the platform as part of its enforcement measures.

Telegram has denied facilitating criminal or terrorist activity and has characterized the restrictions as an effort to pressure users into switching to the state-backed messaging app Max. Critics, including Durov, argue that Max was designed to enable mass surveillance and censorship.

Durov has faced scrutiny over Telegram’s content moderation policies both in Russia and internationally. In 2014, he left Russia after refusing to comply with government demands to remove opposition group pages from VKontakte, the social network he founded in 2006.

He is also under investigation in France for allegedly failing to cooperate with judicial authorities in removing illegal content from Telegram. French authorities arrested him in August 2024 and formally indicted him as part of that probe. He was later released, and the investigation remains ongoing.