Western sanctions leave 500 million dollars of Telegram bonds frozen in Russia

Tuesday 06 January 2026 - 17:50

Around 500 million dollars of Telegram bonds remain frozen at Russia’s National Settlement Depository because of Western sanctions imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the messaging app’s ongoing financial exposure to Russian capital markets despite founder Pavel Durov’s efforts to distance the company from Moscow, according to the Financial Times. The frozen securities highlight how sanctions continue to affect global issuers with legacy links to Russian infrastructure, even as they seek to reposition themselves in other jurisdictions.

The immobilised bonds form part of a wider debt refinancing by Telegram, which issued 1.7 billion dollars in convertible bonds in May 2025 to buy back existing notes due in 2026. While the company has successfully repurchased most of that earlier debt, the 500 million dollar tranche held at the Russian central securities depository remains locked and cannot be settled. This unresolved block leaves a significant portion of the refinancing operation technically incomplete and exposes Telegram to legal and operational uncertainty around how and when affected investors will be paid.

Sanctions against Russia’s National Settlement Depository were first imposed by the European Union in June 2022, then followed by the United States and the United Kingdom in June 2024, triggering asset freezes that touch any Western entity with bondholders whose securities are lodged in the Russian system. Telegram has informed investors that it intends to honour repayment of the frozen bonds at maturity, but the paying agent and the depository still have to determine whether and how any funds can legally reach Russian holders under current restrictions. The outcome will be closely watched by other issuers whose securities are similarly trapped.

The situation poses a reputational and practical challenge for Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after saying he had come under pressure to share VKontakte user data with Russian law enforcement. He has repeatedly dismissed allegations of Kremlin influence over Telegram as conspiracy theories, arguing that the platform operates independently of any government. The continued entanglement of a substantial bond tranche in sanctioned Russian infrastructure complicates those efforts to demonstrate a clean break.

Financially, Telegram continues to post rapid top line growth despite the sanctions related complications and volatility in digital assets. The company generated 870 million dollars in revenue in the first half of 2025, a year on year increase of 65 percent. Premium subscriptions surged 88 percent to reach 223 million dollars, while roughly 300 million dollars came from exclusivity agreements tied to Toncoin, a cryptocurrency tightly integrated into the platform’s ecosystem.

Telegram reported an operating profit of nearly 400 million dollars over the period, yet still booked a net loss of 222 million dollars. The shortfall was driven mainly by write downs on its Toncoin holdings, which lost significant value amid a broader cryptocurrency market slump in 2025. The company has sold more than 450 million dollars worth of Toncoin this year and plans to deepen the token’s integration across its services in 2026, betting that its blockchain based features will remain a core revenue driver despite recent price shocks.

The bond freeze comes as Durov weighs a possible initial public offering for Telegram, a step that would expose its finances and governance to far greater scrutiny from global investors. Those plans have been delayed while he faces legal proceedings in France over allegations that the app failed to curb criminal activity on the platform. French authorities lifted travel restrictions on Durov in March 2025 and further eased the conditions in November 2025, allowing him to leave France periodically while the investigation continues. How regulators and markets assess Telegram’s exposure to sanctions risks, crypto volatility and legal uncertainty will be critical in determining the timing and valuation of any future listing.