Google’s Russian branch went bankrupt
Google’s subsidiary operating in Russia has filed a notice of intent to declare its insolvency.
This was reported by Reuters. Google says it cannot maintain operations in the country. Russian authorities have seized the company’s bank accounts, making it unable to meet its obligations. Last year, Google in Russia earned about $2.086 billion and had more than 100 employees.
Russia seized a sizable portion of Google’s assets as a result of penalties imposed by the country’s authorities. In December 2021, it fined the company 7.2 billion rubles after it refused to remove content it deemed illegal. In April this year, meanwhile, it confiscated 1 billion rubles. The Russian regulator has also threatened to impose another fine of 8 billion rubles.
Google is probably the first major technology company to file for bankruptcy in Russia as a result of the war with Ukraine. Apple, Meta and Microsoft have suspended operations in the country, but have not filed for bankruptcy.
Google will continue to provide free services in Russia, such as its search engine, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play.
