Russia demands US$20 decillion from Google for blocking pro-Kremlin media

Google is being sued by Russia for US$20 decillion. Photo / Getty Images

Russia has demanded Google pay a fine worth more than the world’s GDP for blocking pro-Kremlin media outlets.

Judges in Moscow are seeking around US$20 decillion from the technology giant, many times the estimated US$100 trillion size of the global economy. Written out in full, the fine would be 20 followed by 33 zeros.

The penalty, which far eclipses Google’s own US$2 trillion market value, comes after the US technology business barred pro-Moscow propaganda channel Tsargrad TV, owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, from YouTube four years ago.

Google was fined a daily penalty of 100,000 roubles (₽) and warned that amount would double every 24 hours if it went unpaid. The technology giant now owes more than ₽2 undecillion, a 36-digit figure, lawyer Ivan Morozov told the state-owned TASS news agency.

The original fine has been compounded by further penalties after Google blocked a total of 17 Russian TV channels as a result of international sanctions. According to local news outlet RBC, the judge described the legal battle as “a case in which there are many, many zeros”.

The technology giant shut down its local Russian division in 2022 following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with its subsidiary declaring bankruptcy. However, many of its services, including its search engine and YouTube, have remained accessible to Russians.

The Telegraph revealed in August bailiffs acting for Moscow had seized more than US$100 million from the bankrupt entity to fund Putin’s war machine.

In court documents Google said Russia had handed the assets to sanctioned TV channels including Tsargrad, whose owner Malofeev has been described as the “Orthodox oligarch”, and state-owned RT.

In the filings, Google said: “The bailiffs seized more than US$100m of Google Russia’s assets, even though the amount purportedly due under the judgment at the time was less than US$12.5m (₽1 billion).”

“Tsargrad received ₽1 billion from the seizure, which it said it would use to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

The technology giant is also fighting efforts by Russian broadcasters to enforce the fines in foreign jurisdictions, including South Africa, Turkey and Serbia.

On Tuesday, Google reported a 15% increase in its revenues to US$88.3 billion for the three months ending in September, sending its shares up 5% in after-hours trading in New York.

Despite the astronomical sums being demanded of Google by Russia, the company said in its last earnings statement: “We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect.”