Telegram founder Pavel Durov has pointed fingers at French intelligence, accusing them of pressuring him to block some Moldovan channels on his app. Durov took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the whole incident that happened while he was stuck in Paris, facing a legal issue. French intelligence wanted some Moldovan voices to be removed from the platform in exchange for support with his ongoing lawsuit, he added.
The claim comes as Moldovans voted in the major parliamentary election that could decide the future path of the entire nation: whether closer to the European Union or leaning toward pro-Russian groups.
Durov Claims Pressure & Political Influence
Durov claimed that he was told by the French intelligence that if he agreed to censor channels, they would “say good things” about him to the judge handling his case. He called the offer “unacceptable” and said only a few channels that clearly broke Telegram’s own rules were taken down.
🇲🇩 About a year ago, while I was stuck in Paris, the French intelligence services reached out to me through an intermediary, asking me to help the Moldovan government censor certain Telegram channels ahead of the presidential elections in Moldova.
After reviewing the channels…
— Pavel Durov (@durov) September 28, 2025
“If the agency really approached the judge, that means they interfered in the judicial process,” Durov said. “If not, then they used my legal troubles in France to push their political goals in Eastern Europe.”
French officials responded on X, pointing out that Durov had made similar claims earlier this year during elections in Romania. At that time, France’s foreign intelligence service, the DGSE, denied asking him to silence Romanian conservative voices.
After Romania, Moldova. 🗳️@durov likes making accusations while elections are ongoing. pic.twitter.com/tunJiwPa2L
— French Response (@FrenchResponse) September 28, 2025
Legal Trouble In France
Durov was arrested in 2024 at a French airport and is under judicial supervision while investigators look into allegations of organised crime linked to Telegram. He has rejected the charges, calling them “legally and logically absurd.”
Telegram, which has more than 1 billion monthly active users, is especially popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet states. Durov, once known as the founder of VK, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition communities on his platform.
Now, his fight with French authorities has grown beyond legal questions; it is touching politics in Moldova and raising debates about freedom of speech, censorship, and the power of digital platforms in elections.
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