ArmInfo. Telegram suffered a $500 million bond freeze in Russia due to Western sanctions, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. The bonds were blocked at Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD), which has been under EU blocking sanctions since June 2022 and US sanctions since June 2024, the FT reports.
According to the newspaper, Telegram has conducted several bond placements in recent years, including a $1.7 billion bond issue in May 2025. FT sources familiar with Telegram's negotiations with investors say the company purchased most of the 2026 bonds, but $500 million remains unavailable, the newspaper reports. Telegram declined to comment to the FT.
The recent bond placement will give investors the opportunity to purchase Telegram shares at a discount of up to 20% in any future IPO, the FT notes. The newspaper noted that the company had begun developing plans for an initial public offering even before Pavel Durov's arrest in France. During a recent phone call between Telegram and some bondholders, they were informed that further legal proceedings were required to conduct the IPO, the FT reports.
According to unaudited financial statements reviewed by the FT, Telegram's revenue for the first half of 2025 grew 65% year-on-year to reach $870 million. According to one of the newspaper's sources, the company expects to generate $2 billion in revenue by the end of the year. In a March 2024 interview with the FT, Pavel Durov stated a preliminary valuation of Telegram at $30 billion ahead of a possible IPO.
