Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Telegram Founder; GRAM Drops More Than 4%

Russia has issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

Reuters reported on July 29 that Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, recently charged Durov with aiding terrorist activity and placed him on an international wanted list. Authorities did not disclose the specific allegations or details of the warrant process.

Russian authorities have been conducting a criminal investigation into Durov since February on charges of assisting terrorist activity. The FSB said Telegram had been used for terrorist and extremist activity in Russia and that the company had not sufficiently cooperated with the authorities’ investigation.

Durov has denied the allegations, saying the Russian government was fabricating baseless grounds to restrict citizens’ use of Telegram. He has also said the authorities were creating a new pretext to suppress privacy and freedom of expression.

The news sent Telegram’s native token, GRAM, down nearly 4%. According to CoinMarketCap, GRAM was trading at $1.39 as of 3:12 p.m. Korea time, down 4.14% from a day earlier.