- Google has seen 110 million euros in French assets frozen by Russian authorities
- The move is a response to a reported illegal dividend payment in 2021.
- Russia is cracking down on Western tech companies and restricting citizens’ access.
A ruling by a Russian arbitration court found Google guilty of an illegal dividend payment, leading to a temporary freeze of around €110 million in French assets owned by Alphabet.
Official court orders show that this move was confirmed by an administrator of Google’s defunct Russian subsidiary, and the action comes as a rare attempt by Russian authorities to attack the Western company’s assets through legal channels.
Google was reportedly guilty of an illegal dividend payment worth around 10 billion rubles (€110 million) in 2021, a Russian court concluded.
Temporary freezing
The company can challenge this temporary freeze before an executing judge in the French courts. Russian authorities are attempting similar actions in Türkiye, South Africa and Spain.
TechRadar Pro He contacted Google but did not immediately receive a response.
Google no longer operates in Russia, after Russian authorities froze its bank accounts back in 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making its operations unsustainable.
Russia is currently threatening to block all Google services in a “soft squeeze” of American technology, contemplating an outright ban on its services. This is apparently because the company stores user data outside the country, which poses a “serious threat” to the country and its economy due to tracking by Russian companies. This, in turn, could be used to justify new sanctions against the already heavily sanctioned state.
This is part of a broader pattern of digital isolation, common in a country at war, especially if it faces significant backlash around the world. Popular apps like FaceTime, Snapchat, and most recently WhatsApp may face bans in the country.
Russian censorship has increased in recent months, with a crackdown on VPNs making it much more difficult for citizens to access unbiased information or communicate securely and privately both within Russia and with the outside world.
Through PakGazette
The best identity theft protection for every budget
