Financial Times (FT) reported on the 6th that about $500 million (about 720 billion won) in bonds issued by the messenger platform Telegram are stuck in Russia due to Western sanctions against Russia.
Telegram issued $1.7 billion (about 2.5 trillion won) in corporate bonds multiple times in May last year to buy back (early redeem) corporate bonds maturing in 2026 that were issued in 2021. According to sources cited by FT, Telegram bought back most of the corporate bonds maturing in 2026, but $500 million worth remains frozen at Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD).
The European Union (EU), the United States, and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions such as asset freezes on NSD after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Because NSD, where Telegram corporate bonds held by investors in Russia are deposited, is subject to Western sanctions, Telegram cannot buy back those bonds.
Pavel Durov, Telegram's founder and chief executive officer (CEO), is considering the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO), but FT said the IPO plan has been delayed due to ongoing legal proceedings in France. Durov was preliminarily indicted in France in 2024 on allegations including allowing the distribution of child sexual abuse material.