Russian news service Interfax reported that Google filed a motion for bankruptcy with Moscow’s Arbitration Court.
The move was expected, and follows a May 18 filing by Google LLC, the Russian subsidiary of the US-based search giant, that it intended to declare bankruptcy.
Google LLC’s bank account was seized by Russian authorities, in retalation for the US company's stance on the war against Ukraine.
“The Russian authorities’ seizure of Google Russia’s bank account has made it untenable for our Russia office to function, including employing and paying Russia-based employees, paying suppliers and vendors, and meeting other financial obligations,” a Google spokesperson confirmed on May 18 to CRN in an email.
For Google in Russia, 2022 has been an especially tough year saw it being fined three times for a total of 30 million rubles for not deleting prohibited information.
The company was also forced to pay a billion rubles to the TV channel Tsargrad for blocking the channel on Google and YouTube, 500 million rubles after a lawsuit from NTV, and 1 billion rubles in a case involving the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.
Furthermore, Bloomberg reported in March that Google started moving some of its Russian employees out of the country.
Interfax Friday reported that Google LLC, which registered in Russia in 2005, reported at the end of 2021 revenue of 134.3 billion rubles, or about US$1.8 billion using the exchange rate between December 31 and January 1 of 1 ruble to $0.0134.
Google LLC also posted a net loss of 26 billion rubles, or US$348 million, which Interfax said was that company’s first loss since 2009.
Many other high-profile tech companies have shut down or are shutting down operations in Russia in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine, including IBM, HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, SAP, DXC Technology, Accenture, and others.
