Russia seized more than $100 million from a division of the American company Google to finance support for the war against Ukraine. UNN reports this with reference to The Telegraph.
Details
US documents showed that bailiffs seized funds from the tech giant's Russian bank accounts in 2022, leading its unit in the country to bankruptcy.
According to the documents, the bankruptcy administrators of Google's division transferred funds to Russian TV channels, including the state-run RT and the Tsargrad propaganda service, which pledged to use the funds to support the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.
The Russian company Google declared bankruptcy in 2022, saying that the Kremlin had seized funds, but it is unclear how much was seized.
The documents show that bailiffs seized the company's bank account after a Moscow court ruled that it must pay damages to Tsargrad TV, an Orthodox propaganda channel owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.
Last week, Google filed lawsuits against RT, Tsargrad TV and a third broadcaster, NFPT, in US and English courts.
Russian courts have ruled that Google must pay huge amounts of compensation to three TV channels for removing them from YouTube and deleting their Google accounts.
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Google is seeking a ruling to block broadcasters from pursuing their assets in foreign jurisdictions such as South Africa, Turkey, and Serbia.
In court documents, Google reported: "Bailiffs have seized over $100 million worth of Google Russia assets, although the amount allegedly due under the court order was less than $12.5 million (one billion rubles) at the time. "Tsargrad received one billion rubles from this amount, which he said he would use to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
Court documents show that the Moscow-based law firm Art de Lex, which represents the bankruptcy administrator, prioritized the payment to Russian broadcasters over employees and other creditors.
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The owner of Tsargrad, Malofeev, is called an "Orthodox oligarch". He was sanctioned by the US for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014. The company sued Google in Turkey, demanding additional funds from the company.
According to Turkish documents, Russian courts have determined that Google owes Tsargrad 32.8 billion rubles (£273 million). However, as the company's daily fines double every 24 hours, this amount could exceed the entire market value of Google.
In filing the lawsuits last week, Google said that Russian courts "have imposed unprecedented fines and arbitrary legal sanctions against Google in an attempt to restrict access to information about our services and as punishment for our compliance with international sanctions against Russian individuals and entities.