Google Russia plans to file for bankruptcy and stop advertising business

According to Reuters, Google’s Russian unit will file for bankruptcy, the company said it can no longer keep the branch.

According to reports, the Russian branch’s revenue in Russia in 2021 will be 134.3 billion rubles (about 2.086 billion US dollars) and employ more than 100 workers.

In a statement sent to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said: “Russian authorities have seized Google Russia bank accounts, rendering our Russia office inoperable, including hiring and paying employees in Russia, and paying suppliers and suppliers. , and other financial obligations. Google Russia has issued a notice of its intention to file for bankruptcy.”

In March, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Google suspended ad sales in Russia.

Google-owned YouTube also moved to ban advertising on channels owned by Russian state-backed media, and later blocked them outright.

In December, Russia fined Google 7.2 billion rubles for failing to remove content Russia deems illegal from its platform.

In addition, Reuters reported that a Russian TV channel claimed that authorities seized 1 billion rubles (about $15 million) from Google in April after Google did not restore access to the channel’s YouTube account.

Russia’s communications watchdog also threatened to impose a modest fine of 8 million rubles (about $95,000) on Google after it removed “illegal” videos from YouTube.

It is unclear how much Russia has confiscated from Google in total.

Reuters reviewed a note posted to Russia’s official financial registry detailing Google’s intentions to file for bankruptcy.

“As of March 22, 2022, it foresees that it will become insolvent, will be unable to meet its monetary obligations, demand severance payments and/or remuneration of staff working under employment contracts or previously employed, and/or within a specified period of time mandatory payment obligations within.”

So far, Google appears to be the first major tech company to file for bankruptcy in Russia due to the Ukraine war.

Others, such as Apple , Meta and Microsoft , have all suspended operations in the country, but have yet to have their Russian units declare bankruptcy. Russia-backed food delivery startup Buyk filed for bankruptcy in March due to economic sanctions on the country.

On Monday, McDonald’s announced it was leaving Russia to sell its fast-food restaurant after operating in the country for more than 30 years.

While Russia didn’t get to the point of banning Google’s services in the country, it did ban Facebook and Instagram. Google said its free service will still be available in the country.

A Google spokesperson added: “Russian people rely on our services for high-quality information, and we will continue to maintain free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play.”