This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Russian bailiffs have reportedly seized more than 7.7 billion rubles ($123.2 million) from Alphabet’s Google that it had been ordered to pay as part of a fine calculated on the basis of its turnover.
Russian news agencies said on May 26 that Google’s name disappeared from the registry of debtors of the Russian Federal Bailiffs’ Service (FSSP), concluding that it means the fine had been paid off.
Neither Google nor the FSSP have commented on the issue.
Google’s Russian arm said last week that it planned to file for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors. Free services such as the company’s search engine and YouTube have continued operating.
The decision to fine Google was made by a Moscow court in December for what the court said was the repeated failure to delete content that Russia deems illegal.
The fine was then said to be calculated as a percentage of Google’s annual earnings, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in Russia.
President Vladimir Putin has accused social media platforms and other tech giants of flouting the country’s Internet laws and has initiated a push to force foreign firms to open offices in Russia and store Russians’ personal data on its territory.
Many critics say the move is an attempt by Russian authorities to exert tighter control over the Internet and quell dissent.
Last month, a court in Moscow impounded property and froze bank accounts of Google’s Russian arm as a guarantee against a possible court decision regarding a lawsuit filed against Google by a subsidiary of Gazprom-Media holding.
