In an interview with SOTA, Vladimir Vedeneyev, co-owner of the telecom operator GlobalNet, refuted the claims of the authors of the 'Vazhnyye Istorii' investigation that Telegram's data storage infrastructure is managed by structures linked to the FSB. According to Vedeneyev, he asked that his name not be mentioned in the article so that 'unfounded public accusations would not damage his company's business reputation'.
The 'Vazhnyye Istorii' investigation was based on the premise that the messenger's server infrastructure is handled by the offshore Global Network Management (GNM), founded by Vedeneyev. In Russia, he also owned the St Petersburg internet provider AO ElectronTelecom (brand eTelecom) and the operator Globalnet. The journalists found that ElectronTelecom had signed contracts with the FSB for the installation of SORM — equipment for monitoring internet activity — and that in 2018 Vedeneyev signed a document as CFO of Telegram Corp. On this basis, they concluded that the same people who service the FSB's secret complexes are responsible for Telegram's server infrastructure.
Criticism of the investigation
The publication drew objections. Journalist Yulia Latynina noted that GNM 'physically keeps its servers in Florida', and that the FBI has enough powers to check the messenger's possible ties to the Kremlin. Leonid Volkov, manager of the FBK (in a role not fully established), said that 'sowing and spreading panic on the basis of such shaky (and incorrect) accusations is foolish'.
Vedeneyev's explanations
In conversation with SOTA, Vedeneyev confirmed that he signed Telegram Corp. documents as CFO in the company's early stages to save time when installing equipment, since the firm then had no clear management structure. Now, he says, the company, as a global player with major investors, 'no longer permits such a free treatment of job titles'.
He also said that he has not lived in Russia since 2017 but kept his business in the country. After the war began, he transferred his Russian assets to acquaintances because he could not find a buyer in the EU. According to him, the Russian and international legal entities did not overlap, except for technical interaction, although a number of employees in Russia initially worked remotely for GNM. Vedeneyev noted that his company cooperates with Google, Valve, Vodafone, Blizzard and other major clients and has had no incidents of data leakage or compromise.
Separately, the businessman commented on the contracts with the FSB. According to him, ElectronTelecom was laying cable from residential buildings to 'civil defence facility No. 58', which handles emergency notification. Because of bureaucratic requirements, this required obtaining an order-permit from the FSB, after which the security service 'took advantage of the company's existing clearance and suggested it lay cables at a similar facility'. The company won the tender and fulfilled the state order. Vedeneyev insists that the contract was not related to SORM.
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