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Telegram Bonds Worth $500 Million Frozen in Russia’s NRD Under Sanctions

Western restrictions on Moscow’s clearinghouse are blocking redemptions, highlighting the app’s lingering ties to Russian markets.

Overview

  • Financial Times reports that about $500 million of Telegram debt is stuck at the National Settlement Depository in Moscow due to Western sanctions.
  • The company repurchased most notes maturing in 2026, yet a substantial tranche remains immobilized at the sanctioned Russian depository.
  • The NRD has been under European Union, United States, and United Kingdom sanctions since 2022, limiting cross‑border settlement of securities held there.
  • Telegram has sold more than $4 billion in bonds since 2021, and its unaudited H1 2025 results show revenue of roughly $870 million and a net loss of $222 million, which an FT source linked in part to Toncoin write‑downs.
  • Executives told bondholders an IPO would be considered only after French legal proceedings conclude, and they signaled a goal of reaching $2 billion in 2025 revenue.