Google says its Russian bank account has been seized; its Russian subsidiary files for bankruptcy

The United States and its western allies have reportedly frozen more than $284 billion in Russian assets as part of the sanctions imposed on Russia amid the ongoing war with Ukraine. But so far, Russia has not responded in kind. Until now.

Today, Google said that Russian authorities have seized its Russian bank account, making it impossible for its Russian office to function, the company spokesperson said on Wednesday after Google’s Russian subsidiary declared its intention to file for bankruptcy.

According to another report from Reuters, citing a message posted on Russia’s official registry Fedresurs on Wednesday, Google said its Russian subsidiary has filed for insolvency. The subsidiary was “submitting a notice of the intention to declare itself insolvent (bankrupt)”, the note reads.

“Since March 22, 2022, it foresees its own bankruptcy and inability to fulfill its monetary obligations, demands to pay severance payments and (or) the remuneration of staff working or previously working under an employment contract, and (or) the obligation to make mandatory payments within the prescribed period,” the note said. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the Russian government said on Tuesday that “it was not planning to block Alphabet’s YouTube, in spite of repeated threats and fines, acknowledging that such a move would likely see Russian users suffer and should therefore be avoided.”

According to data from the Interfax news agency’s Spark database of Russian companies, Google’s Russian subsidiary’s 2021 revenue was 134.3 billion roubles (about $2.2 billion).