An investigation by Important Stories, published on June 10, 2025, alleges that the maintenance and installation of server equipment for the Telegram messenger is handled by a little-known company called Global Network Management (GNM), registered in Antigua and Barbuda. According to the journalists, it is owned by Vladimir Vedeneyev. Until 2024, he was also the beneficiary of the St. Petersburg-based company Globalnet, which until 2020 controlled part of Telegram's IP addresses. Last year, Vedeneyev transferred his stake to relatives, who now control 96% of the company; the remaining 4% belongs to Roman Venediktov, a graduate of the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy and a former employee of the Main Center for Testing and Control of Space Assets of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Links to State Clients
According to the investigators, Globalnet provides communication services not only to Telegram but also to several Russian state enterprises, including those working in the defense sector: the Kurchatov Institute and the Main Research Computing Center of the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation (GlavNIVTs). GlavNIVTs, as noted, is engaged in mass surveillance of Russians on the internet and uses bots to promote Kremlin propaganda on social media, and is also responsible for developing a nationwide video surveillance system with facial recognition.
In addition to Globalnet, until 2024 Vedeneyev owned the company Electrontelecom (which he also transferred to relatives). From internal financial documents, the investigators learned that one of its most important clients is the FSB. The firm provides the security service with installation and technical maintenance services for a "complex for the transmission of special information from stationary facilities of the FSB Directorate for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, used for conducting operational-search activities in order to fulfill the state defense order."
Expert Assessment and Telegram's Response
Digital security expert Michał "Rysiek" Woźniak commented on this information: "It shocks me, but does not surprise me. If someone has access to Telegram's traffic and cooperates with Russian special services, it means that the device identifier becomes a really big problem—a tool for global surveillance of messenger users regardless of where they are and which server they connect to."
The publication Vot Tak approached Telegram with a request to comment on cooperation with Global Network Management, and also asked questions about control over servers, the potential vulnerability of user identifiers, and the presence of employees with access to infrastructure in Russia. The messenger's press service stated: "All Telegram servers belong to Telegram and are maintained by Telegram employees. Unauthorized access is impossible. Telegram has no employees or servers in Russia. Throughout its history, Telegram has never handed over personal messages to third parties, and its encryption has never been cracked." They also noted that the company works with dozens of contractors worldwide, but none of them has access to user data or critical infrastructure.
Pavel Durov has lived abroad since 2014, but, as Important Stories previously learned, since then he has repeatedly visited Russia. In August 2024, he was detained in France on charges of complicity in administering an online platform to enable illegal transactions as part of an organized group; refusal to provide information or documents upon request by authorized authorities; complicity in offenses related to the distribution of pornography involving minors, drug trafficking, and fraud; money laundering; and importing crypto tools without declaration. In March 2025, he was allowed to fly to Dubai.
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