MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. The actions of Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov are under investigation as part of a criminal case on terrorism facilitation, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper reported citing materials from Russia’s Federal Service (FSB).

"The actions of Telegram CEO P. Durov are being investigated within a criminal case on signs of a crime under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 (facilitating terrorist activity) of the Russian Criminal Code," the news outlet says.

The publication notes that over 153,000 crimes committed via Telegram have been recorded since 2022, with 33,000 of them linked to terrorist and extremist sabotage activities, including organizing explosions, fires at military commissariats, and murders.

"Thanks to the work of Russia’s FSB, 475 terrorist acts orchestrated through Telegram have been prevented," the newspaper writes. Among them are 61 planned mass killings in schools, organized by teenagers.

The publication notes that the March 2024 attack on Crocus City Hall was also coordinated through the messenger. "Russian citizens, bloggers and journalists, including Darya Dugina and Maxim Fomin, as well as nine top military officials, including Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, fell victim to the digital lawlessness. The enemy uses Telegram analytics to gather information on the victims’ families, commutes, and daily routine," Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. In addition, there have been roughly 700 recorded cases of direct threats to families of Russian servicemen.

At the same time, over the past few years, Russia’s telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has sent more than 150,000 requests to Durov's team through official channels demanding the removal of various types of illegal content, but these requests have largely been ignored.