Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, faces charges of aiding terrorism under the Russian Criminal Code, but Sergei Boyarsky, head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, stated that the case is not linked to the Russian communications regulator's grievances against the messaging app, according to infohub.kz.
Boyarsky noted that Russian authorities have long held complaints against Telegram for non-compliance with laws. In an interview with Business FM, he said: "There are a number of complaints against the Telegram messenger. They have consistently failed to comply with Russian laws, so the latest news is in no way connected with the policy that the regulator chose to force this platform to comply with the lawful demands of the Russian Federation."
The deputy added that he does not consider the allegations against Durov personally and the demands on Telegram to be the same issue, admitting he has not studied the details of the criminal case thoroughly.
Meanwhile, lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told TASS that if Durov is found guilty, he could face life imprisonment in Russia.
Andrei Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, believes Telegram could continue to operate legally in Russia if it opens a representative office, stores and processes personal data within the country, and cooperates with security agencies on counter-terrorism matters.
Earlier, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Durov under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code (aiding terrorist activities) and placed him on an international wanted list. According to the FSB, Telegram's administration failed to remove channels, chats, and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence to prepare sabotage, terrorist attacks, mass killings, and cyber fraud on Russian territory. The FSB claims these activities led to casualties and billions of rubles in damages.
As of publication, Pavel Durov and Telegram representatives have not publicly commented on the Russian authorities' accusations.