France has temporarily frozen Google assets worth around 110 million euros following an appeal by the liquidator of the company’s Russian unit, an atypical attempt to use European jurisdiction to enforce court decisions in Russia.
France has temporarily frozen Google assets worth around 110 million euros following an appeal by the liquidator of the company’s Russian unit, an atypical attempt to use European jurisdiction to enforce court decisions in Russia.
As Reuters reports, the arrest was initiated by the court administrator of Google Russia, acting on behalf of the bankrupt company. The freezing of shares belonging to Google International and related to the activities of Google France was ordered by a French bailiff based on three decisions of Moscow arbitration courts made in 2024-2025.
The liquidator’s lawyer, William Julie, said that a Russian court found Google guilty of illegally paying dividends in 2021 in the amount of about 10 billion rubles. It was this amount that became the basis for the demands to seize assets abroad. According to him, similar steps to enforce decisions are also being prepared in Spain, Turkey and South Africa.
The current arrest is temporary. French law requires the requesting party to submit documents for the formal recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards within a month, otherwise the restriction will be lifted. After that, the Paris court will decide whether to grant permission for enforcement, which could take up to a year and a half. Google has the right to appeal both the arrest itself and further steps to legalize it.
Representatives of Google, the liquidator of Google Russia and the French authorities declined to comment. Google has previously received multiple fines from Russian authorities, and its Russian «subsidiary» filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after its bank accounts were frozen.
This situation is unfolding against the backdrop of discussions in Europe regarding the use of frozen Russian assets. The Russian side’s attempt to influence the assets of a Western company through EU courts could set a precedent for further legal conflicts between Russia and international business.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Google sent Brussels a new plan for changes to its search results in order to close an antitrust investigation under the Digital Markets Act. Under this law, a fine can reach up to 10% of a company’s global revenue.
