Google has continued to ignore a Russian court decision calling for the return of 10 billion rubles owned by its subsidiary, Google LLC, potentially leading to the removal of the company’s servers in Russia due to debt. Valery Talyarovsky, the bankruptcy trustee of the company, made this announcement.
Talyarovsky highlighted the difficulty in enforcing the penalty as 10 billion rubles is not a significant amount for Google. If the return request starts to impact the company’s main operations, they may comply. However, if Google chooses to contest the decision, the recovery process could be prolonged.
Google International LLC’s lawyers have not yet received a response on the court decision, but the company has until August 26 to file an appeal.
There is a consideration by Gugl LLC to target Google assets in Russia. Currently, the servers have not been seized for debt as they are either owned or leased by Russian businesses.
In July 2024, the Arbitration Court ruled in favor of Valery Talyarovsky’s lawsuit to nullify the transfer of 10 billion rubles in dividends to Google International LLC. However, Google’s main entity has yet to respond to the court’s decision.
Previously, the bankruptcy trustee of Google LLC in Russia published an evaluation of the company’s assets, including office equipment, furniture, and advertising materials. The total value was estimated at 14.9 million rubles, with some items valued as low as 1 ruble due to market scarcity. The Google Global Cache servers were not included in the list as they are owned by Google and installed with communication operators.
In March 2023, Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, confirmed that the Google Global Cache servers established with communication operators nationwide would not be disconnected or seized amidst Google LLC’s bankruptcy proceedings.