Gram Slips 2.4% to $1.42 as Russia Charges Telegram’s Durov With Terrorism Aid

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorist activity on Wednesday and placed him on an international wanted list, according to Interfax. Gram, the token native to The Open Network (TON) and tightly integrated with Telegram, was trading at $1.42, down roughly 2.4% over the prior 24 hours as the news spread.

The FSB alleges Telegram failed to remove channels, chats and bots that Ukrainian intelligence services, along with extremist and terrorist organizations, used to coordinate sabotage, cyber fraud and attacks inside Russia. The charges carry a potential sentence of life imprisonment, and the agency did not clarify whether it has also requested an Interpol Red Notice, which would not by itself constitute a binding international arrest order.

An Escalation Backed by Rubles and Restrictions

Wednesday’s charges deepen an investigation Russian authorities opened in February 2026, when Moscow began restricting Telegram’s operations domestically. Since then, the platform has racked up more than 100 million rubles (about $1.25 million) in fines, primarily tied to failures to remove content banned under Russian law, per Interfax.

Despite pushing its state-backed MAX messenger as an alternative, Russian government bodies — including the Kremlin and the defense ministry — reportedly continue to rely on Telegram for official communication. The app remains one of the most used platforms on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with more than a billion users globally.

Why the Crypto Market Is Watching

Telegram is one of the largest distribution channels in crypto, hosting project communities, trading groups, bots and blockchain-based Mini Apps. Its ties to TON run deep: the network’s native token was renamed from Toncoin to Gram in June, and TON’s payments, tokenized assets and Mini Apps infrastructure leans on access to Telegram’s user base, according to the TON website.

That dependency means legal pressure on Durov and Telegram carries direct read-through for Gram holders and TON-based projects. A sustained crackdown, fines, or disruption to Telegram’s operations could weigh on sentiment for the token even without any direct action against TON itself — a dynamic already visible in Wednesday’s modest price dip.

Durov’s Legal History and Current Status

Durov’s whereabouts remain unknown, according to Reuters. Earlier reports this year indicated he was already under investigation in a related terrorism case, with a summons addressed to him reportedly delivered to an apartment he had not occupied in over 20 years. He has previously said he was being targeted for defending constitutional protections around free speech and private correspondence, and has called Russia’s criminal case against him “a sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people.”

Wednesday’s charges come roughly two years after French authorities arrested Durov as part of a separate investigation into whether Telegram had failed to adequately prevent criminal activity and cooperate with law enforcement. Those French allegations included complicity in organized fraud, money laundering, narcotics distribution and the spread of child sexual abuse material.

Read more: Russia’s FSB Issues Arrest Warrant for Telegram’s Durov Over Terrorism Charge

Sources

• decrypt.co
• cryptopotato.com
• coindesk.com
• theblock.co