Telegram: Moscow accuses messaging of not cooperating against drug trafficking

Telegram targeted again by Moscow. The Russian Interior Ministry accuses the messaging service of not responding to its proposals for cooperation against drug trafficking. Kirill Smurov, acting head of the Main Directorate for Narcotics Control, made these accusations on October 7. They are in addition to the technical restrictions and proceedings initiated in Russia against Telegram and its founder, Pavel Durov.

Russian police criticize Telegram for lack of cooperation

Kirill Smurov spoke at a meeting of the Public Council at the Ministry of the Interior devoted in particular to the prevention of drug trafficking among young people. According to him, exchanges between consumers and sellers of narcotics frequently take place via Telegram, outside the darknet. But Smurov did not provide any supporting figures.

The manager directly mentioned Pavel Durov, saying that the founder did not respond to offers of contact from the police services. He summarized his criticism in these terms:

“Telegram does not react to anything and does not share any information. »

Kirill Smurov, Acting Head of the Main Directorate of Narcotics Control

He also believes that operators must themselves block groups promoting drugs. As an example, the official cited Yandex, which carries out these deletions.

However, a distinction must be made between the deletion of content, the transmission of data and the establishment of contact with the police. The statement does not detail the requests made to Telegram or their legal basis. It therefore does not make it possible, on its own, to establish the circumstances of each refusal or absence of response.

Restrictions and prosecutions: the dispute with Moscow continues

Roskomnadzor, the Russian communications regulator, claims that Telegram does not comply with national requirements and thus justifies the restrictions initiated since August 2025. According to the TASS agency, the regulator sent more than 150,000 requests for content removal to Pavel Durov's team, which remained unanswered.

On July 29, 2026, the FSB announced that it had accused Pavel Durov of supporting terrorist activities. Russian services criticize the messaging service for not removing channels and bots that would be used to coordinate attacks and sabotage. These are accusations from the authorities, and not guilt established by a judgment.

The next day, Rosfinmonitoring included Pavel Durov on its list of people linked to terrorism or extremism. This registration notably entails restrictions on banking accounts and services in Russia.

Telegram, however, cooperates within a specific framework. Its privacy policy provides that after receipt of a valid court order and legal analysis, the company may transmit the IP address and telephone number of a suspect in a criminal case involving a violation of its terms of use. This provision does not constitute a general authorization to access conversations.