MOSCOW, April 7 (RAPSI) – The UCP investment fund has initiated litigation in the Virgin Islands to protect its rights for the Telegram internet messaging service, which was designed by the founder of Russia’s largest social network VKontakte, Pavel Durov, according to a statement released by the fund Monday.

Telegram messenger designed by Durov has been available in AppStore since August 2013, with Android version coming out in September 2013.  As of March 2104, the social networking giant estimated that it had 35 million active users.

The UCP fund states that Pavel Durov failed his obligations before VKontakte, as he developed a highly valuable software for external use, while being a CEO and development lead of Vkontakte. The fund considers itself a proper owner of Telegram and is prepared to protect its rights in court.

VKontakte is a popular Russian social network, being one of the country's most visited sites. Established in 2006, VKontakte boasts approximately 200 million registered users and is more popular than Facebook in Russia. Its audience reaches over 40 million users daily.