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Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Russian authorities designated him a “terrorist” after he refused government demands for mass surveillance and censorship on the messaging platform, responding publicly a day after Russia announced charges against him.In a Telegram post on Thursday, Durov also said Russia had barred him from “publishing information on the Internet,” adding that authorities had “got confused about who can ban whom from the Internet.”Source: Telegram, Pavel DurovThe comments came a day after Russia’s Federal Security Service accused Durov of facilitating terrorist activity, alleging Telegram failed to remove channels used by terrorist groups and Ukrainian intelligence services.The case builds on a criminal investigation Russia launched in February, when regulators accused Telegram of leaving nearly 155,000 channels, chats and bots online despite claims they violated Russian laws covering extremist content, terrorism, drug trafficking and other illicit activity.Related: Pavel Durov says Telegram to roll out native Gram crypto walletDurov’s legal battles extend beyond RussiaThe Russian case adds to Durov’s legal challenges abroad. Durov was arrested in France in August 2024 and remains under judicial investigation over allegations that Telegram facilitated criminal activity by failing to adequately moderate illegal content and respond to law enforcement requests. Durov has denied wrongdoing, arguing that French authorities failed to follow due process in seeking information from Telegram. His arrest also prompted a TON Community-backed campaign that collected more than 9 million signatures on an open letter urging French authorities to release him.French authorities initially allowed Durov to temporarily return to Dubai in March 2025 before lifting his travel restrictions entirely later that year. Telegram is also facing fresh legal pressure in Australia, where regulators this week launched court proceedings alleging the platform failed to remove terrorism-related content.Durov has cast himself as a defender of free speech and digital privacy. In April, he warned the European Union’s proposed age-verification app could pave the way for broader online surveillance. The same month, he blamed alleged tax data leaks for a wave of crypto-related kidnappings in France and said Telegram would leave the country rather than grant authorities access to users’ private messages.Magazine: A quantum roadmap would push Bitcoin much higher: Charles EdwardsCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced legislation to create a new US government agency focused entirely on addressing corruption at the federal level, noting President Donald Trump’s gains from “various, and extremely lucrative, cryptocurrency ventures.”In a Thursday notice, Schumer said that he had introduced a bill called the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act, which, if passed, would have the authority to “investigate, enforce, and prevent executive branch corruption.” The text of the bill addressed Congress’ findings that Trump had disclosed earning more than $2 billion from investments in 2025, including $1.4 billion tied to crypto, and his family had more than $1 billion in a crypto fund tied to foreign governments.In a Public Citizen forum describing the bill, Schumer described the anti-corruption agency as having “real teeth” with enforcement authority, and consisting of a bipartisan group of seven members to be confirmed by the Senate. The legislation also provided mechanisms for private citizens and state authorities to recover funds that Schumer said had been stolen from “Americans through corruption.““This new bureau is one where these institutions work in symbiosis, strengthening each other and eliminating barriers between them which often got in the way,” said Schumer. “It replaces a broken patchwork of watchdogs, none of which were built for this moment, with one, powerful anti-corruption agency, ready to act anywhere, anytime corruption strikes.” Senator Chuck Schumer announcing the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act on Thursday. Source: Public CitizenTrump’s ties to the cryptocurrency industry have been a sticking point for many Democrats in Congress considering their support for a comprehensive market structure bill called the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. Although the White House agreed to certain ethics provisions in the bill, many lawmakers say the measures do not go far enough to address the president’s potential conflicts of interest.Related: Ethics remain sticking point as crypto market structure bill goes to markupNotably, the proposed anti-corruption agency would place the US Federal Election Commission, Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel “under one roof“ within the new bureau. Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment on the proposed legislation but did not receive an immediate response.Senators Andy Kim, Alex Padilla and Jeff Merkley cosponsored the bill with Schumer. The introduction of the bill also came the same week Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen held a public forum to address Trump’s ties to the crypto industry. The bill would require Republican support to pass in the US House of Representatives and Senate, where the party holds a slim majority. If it were to advance in both chambers before 2028, Trump could still veto the legislation and send it back to Congress, where it would need a two-thirds majority to override the president’s action.Crypto bill is still under consideration in SenateThe US Senate has just over a week left before lawmakers break for a month-long state work period, leaving many scrambling to pass bills before the 2026 US midterms potentially complicate discussions on their return.“The big question at this very minute is where the CLARITY Act stands,“ said former US Securities and Exchange Commission official John Reed Stark following his appearance at Blumenthal’s and Van Hollen’s Monday forum. “Of all the experts and political insiders I spoke with yesterday, not one could say for sure what happens this week with the CLARITY Act. There is enormous drama surrounding this legislation.“As of Thursday, the Senate had not scheduled a vote on the bill, despite pushes from many Republican lawmakers and industry leaders. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Wednesday that the bill was at the “one-yard line,“ and Senator Cynthia Lummis, who has long advocated for the market structure legislation, has continued to push for a vote.Magazine: Will the crypto lobby’s $189M campaign get CLARITY over the line?

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.