What does Durov's inclusion in the register of terrorists and extremists mean? The main thing

Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messenger, was added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists on July 30. About how this will affect the businessman himself, affect the work of the messenger and the legality of its use — in the material of Izvestia.

How will this change Durov's life?

Lawyer Dmitry Roshchin said that Durov should have his Russian accounts blocked after being included in the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists. In addition, transactions with the businessman's money and property will be under mandatory control, and some of them will be suspended.

Salaries and other income can be earned, but can only be spent within the limits prescribed by law. Transactions with real estate, cars and other assets will also be significantly hampered due to the freezing of property.

Lawyer and human rights activist Ekaterina Kutuzova explained that the possible extradition of Telegram founder Pavel Durov depends not only on the charges brought, but also on the country of his actual location, citizenship and legislation of a particular state. According to the expert, Durov's citizenship of several countries makes the extradition procedure more complicated from the point of view of international law.

French lawyer Philippe de Vel, in turn, stressed that France has no legal basis for the extradition of its own citizens to other countries, including Durov. In addition to French and Russian passports, the entrepreneur holds citizenship of the United Arab Emirates, as well as Saint Kitts and Nevis. Interpol itself will conduct the check, since the organization's charter prohibits political, military, religious or racial notices.

What is important for Telegram users to know

Telegram will not automatically become a banned or extremist resource — the restrictions will primarily affect the personal finances and property of its founder. Alexander Khaminsky, a lawyer and head of the law enforcement center in the capital and the Moscow Region, explained that Russian citizens can use Telegram for personal and business purposes if they do not engage in illegal activities on the messenger.

However, he warned that the situation could change dramatically if Telegram is officially recognized as a terrorist or extremist community. Then, when purchasing premium accounts, any other payment methods for Telegram services will be equated to financing extremist activities.

Andrei Svintsov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, agreed with this assessment. The parliamentarian added that using Telegram for personal purposes is not a violation of the law, since the service is not recognized as extremist, and the messenger continues to operate in the legal field.

Ilya Vasilchuk, a judicial lawyer and an expert on the security of electronic transactions and real estate transactions, in turn, drew attention to the fact that the possible recognition of Telegram as an extremist organization would require a separate judicial procedure and proof of the circumstances provided for by law. The very fact that there are separate channels or communities that violate the law on the platform, according to him, does not automatically mean that the entire service is extremist.

Separately, the experts touched upon the purchase of a Telegram Premium subscription. So, Kutuzova said that such a purchase is currently not a violation of the law and does not entail administrative or criminal liability for users. According to her, the current Russian legislation does not prohibit the purchase of a paid subscription in the messenger, and also does not impose penalties for its payment.

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What is the essence of the accusations against Durov

Durov was charged a day earlier in the case of facilitating terrorist activities in Ukraine. The reason for the criminal case was the investigation of the activities of the chatbot "Diver/Leo — dating, communication and new friends" in Telegram, which was previously included in the unified register of prohibited information of Roskomnadzor.

The FSB of the Russian Federation reported that the administration of the messenger had not deleted the prohibited information and a number of channels, chats and bots that were used by the special services of Ukraine and terrorist organizations. It was noted that the Ukrainian special services used the "Leo Diver" to involve Russian citizens in terrorism, and since July 2025, 46 Russian citizens aged 12 to 22 have been detained. After the charges were filed, Durov changed his avatar on his channel, posting a meme with himself in the image of a terrorist.