Telegram is angry with Russian sovereign wealth fund investing in its bonds

Mubadala Investment Company in Abu Dhabi said the Russian Direct Investment Fund participated in its deal to buy convertible bonds from the popular Telegram messaging app, although the messaging app said it didn’t want to. not from the Kremlin-controlled investment entity.

Russian-born founder Pavel Dorov moved the Telegram to Dubai several years ago after being forced to sell his stake in a social network in Russia to a billionaire near the Kremlin in 2014.

For his part, Mubadala said in a statement on Wednesday that the fund “participates as a minority” in the Russian-UAE joint investment platform, indicating that they have made similar deals together in the past, according to Bloomberg. , which was seen by Al Arabiya.net.

In turn, Telegram spokesman Mike Ravdonikas said that although the Russian sovereign wealth fund did not participate in the initial bond offering, the state-controlled fund “appears to have bought a small amount of Telegram bonds in the secondary market under a separate agreement that can not be ‘For the company, it is controlled.

“Since bondholders’ rights are limited and bonds do not confer the ability to influence the values ​​or strategy of the company, we generally do not view Telegram bond trading in the secondary market as a problem.” , he added.

The bonds give investors the right to convert them into shares in the event that the company goes public for public subscription at a discount to the initial offering price.

Conflict with Russia

The statement came hours after an angry outcry at the app, which has clashed for years with Russian regulators over the abandonment of encryption keys.

The joint venture Mubadala and Abu Dhabi, in which it has a stake, said on Tuesday it had invested $ 75 million in the offer, but did not mention the Russian fund. A spokesman for the Russian sovereign wealth fund said later that he had participated “in collaboration with Mubadala, and declined to say the amount of the contribution.”

Telegram has over 500 million active users and has seen an increase in usage after major US tech companies removed conservative voices in the United States earlier this year.

Russian regulators attempted to ban the service in 2018 after refusing to provide law enforcement authorities with encryption keys to read messages.