Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that it had charged Telegram ​founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities, ‌and that it had issued an international warrant for his arrest.
The FSB said that the charges related to ​Telegram's failure to remove material "used by Ukrainian ​special services and by terrorist and extremist ⁠organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage ​and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations within ​the Russian Federation."
There was no immediate comment from Durov or Telegram.
Telegram, an encrypted messenger app founded in 2013, ​says it has more than 1 billion users, ​and is widely used on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine ‌war. Russia ⁠has repeatedly tried to restrict Telegram's use in recent years, promoting its own state-backed MAX messenger service.
Durov, who was born in Russia but ​now holds Emirati ​and French ⁠passports, founded Russia's Facebook equivalent, VKontakte, before selling his remaining stake ​in 2014 amid pressure from Russian authorities.
French ​authorities are investigating Durov over allegations that Telegram failed to adequately counter criminal activity on the platform ⁠and did not sufficiently cooperate with ​law enforcement requests. Durov denies wrongdoing.

-Reuters