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Story 228 highlights the degree to which the powerful men in finance are complicit in keeping women in check and the uphill battle we face on Wall Street. It’s not just about individual behaviour, but the systems that enable it and then distance themselves from the consequences. We’re encouraged to focus on the incident, the personality, the “bad actor,” while ignoring the fact that the infrastructure which allows it to persist operates in plain sight.

Take the recent reporting on Telegram. For years, the platform has been linked to criminal activity — including drug trafficking, fraud, and the widespread distribution of non-consensual sexual content and AI-generated abuse targeting women. In August 2024, its founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France and subsequently placed under formal investigation in connection with allegations that Telegram failed to co-operate with authorities on these matters. That investigation is ongoing. None of this was obscure – it was all a matter of public record.

And yet, in May 2025, Telegram raised approximately $1.5 billion through a convertible bond issuance backed by major institutional investors, including BlackRock and Citadel. This was not early-stage speculation. Capital flowed in after the governance concerns, safety issues, and legal scrutiny were already well documented. The purpose of the financing was to refinance existing debt and stabilise the organisation — in effect, to ensure the platform could continue operating at scale. Worth noting these two firms maintain board seats on ICI.

The harm, the platform, and the capital that sustains it are treated as separate narratives when, in practice, they are closely connected. No one needs to explicitly endorse misogyny if they are prepared to fund — or simply sustain — the systems that allow it to persist. It appears in what is normalised, what is financed, and what is ultimately deprioritised.

It also explains why the fight is uneven and exhausting. Women are expected to manage behaviour, mitigate risk, and protect ourselves within systems that are simultaneously being reinforced by decisions made at a far remove. The challenge is not only to call out what is happening, but to recognise how many layers are quietly working to keep it in place.

Thank you to the brave women behind this platform for giving a safe place to air it.