The lawyer explained the risks of buying Telegram Stars for Russians

The purchase of Telegram Stars for Russian users is not yet explicitly prohibited, however, the use of the messenger's internal currency may be associated with legal risks. Lawyer Mikhail Pirogov told Izvestia about this on July 30, explaining the specifics of the Stars' legal status and the possible consequences of their use.

According to the expert, Telegram Stars are not a cryptocurrency or full-fledged monetary funds protected by legislation on the national payment system. This is the messenger's internal virtual currency, which is used to purchase digital goods, subscriptions, and support content authors.

"From a legal point of view, Stars are neither a cryptocurrency (since they do not use blockchain for storage with the user), nor full-fledged monetary funds protected by the law on the national payment system. This is a purely internal virtual currency of the messenger, designed to purchase digital goods, subscriptions and support content authors," Pirogov explained.

The lawyer noted that Russians can technically purchase Stars through official Telegram tools, but the legal status of such operations remains insufficiently defined.

Like with consequences: how online dating leads teenagers to crimes

The UK puts Pavel Durov on the international wanted list in the case of the recruitment of minors

The main risks, according to the expert, are not related to the purchase of Stars itself, but to their further use. In particular, transfers in favor of channels and organizations that have a prohibited or restricted status in Russia may pose a potential danger.

"The most serious danger is related to the possible qualification of the transfer of these funds (for example, in the form of paid reactions or donations) to the channels of organizations recognized as terrorist or undesirable in Russia," the lawyer said.

Pirogov added that users should purchase Stars only through official Telegram tools and avoid third-party offers for exchanging or cashing out virtual currency. The expert also recommended protecting the account using two-factor authentication and closely monitoring changes in legislation.

According to the lawyer, the purchase of Telegram Stars itself is not currently prohibited, but users should consider the possible risks when choosing payment recipients and using this messenger feature.

In addition, as Pirogov noted, it is possible to give Telegram Stars to another user, but you cannot directly transfer already purchased stars from one account to another.

On July 30, Rosfinmonitoring added Durov to the list of terrorists and extremists. The day before, on July 29, he was charged with facilitating terrorist activities.

On July 29, the FSB's Public Relations Center announced that the Telegram administration, according to the agency, does not delete channels, chats and bots that are allegedly used by Ukrainian special services, as well as terrorist and extremist organizations to prepare sabotage and terrorist acts. 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.