Google owes record 30 bln rubles, substantial part of funds collected for Russian budget - Federal Bailiff Service head

ST. PETERSBURG. May 12 (Interfax) - Google is the biggest debtor among Internet companies fined by Russian courts over their violations of the law, but bailiffs have collected a substantial part of the funds, head of the Russian Federal Bailiff Service Dmitry Aristov told Interfax.

"Google is the biggest debtor that owes approximately 30 billion rubles, but we have collected a substantial part of the funds," Aristov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

Bailiffs have limited access to the company, as Google LLC is going through bankruptcy, he said.

"But they have not gone unpunished, and everything they had in Russia - they had quite a lot - was taken by us for the state," Aristov said.

He also said in response to Interfax's question that Telegram and Facebook (the information resource of an entity banned in Russia) had paid the fines imposed by the courts in the course of enforcement procedures.

The biggest Internet services, such as Google, Telegram, Facebook, TikTok and some others, have been subject to fines within Russia since the beginning of 2021 over their refusal to remove prohibited content. The fines imposed on these foreign companies by the courts exceed 200 million rubles.

Google and other Internet resources have been repeatedly held administratively liable for breaking Russian laws by not removing prohibited information. For instance, they have been fined for failing to remove false information about the Russian special military operation, calls for extremist actions against Russian citizens, and LGBT propaganda.