"Avoid Telegram Token," Urges Russian MP Amidst Charges Brought Against Durov
Russian lawmaker Andrey Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, has advised citizens against purchasing Telegram's Gram cryptocurrency, urging them to await official guidance from Roskomnadzor and the FSB before making any financial transactions via Telegram channels. He reiterated demands for Telegram to open a Russian office, store user data locally, and cooperate with security services.
This warning follows reports that Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been charged in Russia with facilitating terrorist activity. The FSB alleges Telegram failed to remove channels and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence and extremist groups to coordinate acts of terrorism, sabotage, and cyber fraud, resulting in casualties and billions in damages. Russia's Investigative Committee linked the case specifically to a dating bot with over 13 million users, allegedly used for recruitment.
Durov, detained by French authorities, confirmed the terrorism-related charges in late February. In June, he announced the rebranding of his 2019 crypto project back to its original name, Gram, with Telegram taking full control. Following the accusations, Gram's price dipped but has since partially recovered, though it remains well below its May peak and is down 14% over the past year.
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