The enforcement of a Moscow Arbitration Court decision to recover nearly 10 billion rubles from American tech giant Google may be delayed despite French authorities seizing Google France’s assets, according to Artur Zurabyan, partner at Art de Lex Law Firm.
Zurabyan stated the arrangement is legally flawed under bankruptcy legislation: if a company cannot pay dividends to its parent entity just prior to bankruptcy, the deal becomes invalid. He noted Google LLC has exhausted all avenues of challenging the ruling and emphasized that recognizing and enforcing foreign court decisions typically takes 18 months to two years. However, he suggested an agreement with Google might still be reached in coming negotiations.
Kira Vinokurova, a sanctions compliance adviser, added that the French court has yet to assess whether the Moscow decision complies with public order principles. She clarified such procedures are standard for jurisdictions where foreign entities hold assets and could either uphold or reject the ruling.
On December 10, Zurabyan disclosed to reporters that Google France’s assets had been seized under a Moscow Arbitration Court order in Google LLC’s bankruptcy case. The court found the company intentionally paid dividends to evade debt repayment obligations.
Russian authorities have collected 13 billion rubles in fines from Google, but this represents only a small fraction of the company’s total debts. Bankruptcy proceedings also allege Google withdrew over 140 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) from Russia through illicit transactions since 2018.
