A fine with 18 zeros: why Russia wants to collect more from Google than the world’s GDP
18 February 23:53
A Russian court has ruled that Google must pay an astronomical sum of 91.5 quintillion rubles, equivalent to approximately 1.2 quintillion US dollars. This number has 18 zeros and is approximately one million times greater than the total global gross domestic product. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing case materials, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The Russian Supreme Court upheld the decision, refusing to review the decisions of lower courts.
Russia’s Supreme Court upheld a record fine against Google
Supreme Court Judge Sergei Samuilov considered the appeal filed by Google International LLC, the parent company of Google, but found no grounds for granting it.
Thus, the decisions of the lower courts, which recognized the claims of Russian television channels against Google LLC in the amount of more than
- 91 quintillion 511 quadrillion 687 trillion rubles
- or approximately 1.2 quintillion US dollars
This amount is unprecedented in the history of litigation.
The amount exceeds the world’s GDP by a million times
For comparison, according to the World Bank, the total global GDP is approximately $100 trillion.
Thus, the amount that Russia is trying to collect from Google is approximately a million times greater than the entire global gross domestic product.
In fact, this is a theoretical figure that has no economic analogues.
The reason for the fine is the blocking of Russian media YouTube channels
The fine was imposed due to lawsuits filed by Russian TV channels and media companies demanding that Google restore access to their YouTube channels.
These include, in particular:
- Russian state television channels
- propaganda media
- information resources subject to sanctions
The courts ordered Google to unblock these channels, but the company did not comply with the decision. As a result, a penalty began to accrue, which grew exponentially.
Google has already been declared bankrupt in Russia
Google’s Russian legal entity, Google LLC, filed for bankruptcy back in 2022.
At that time:
- the company’s assets amounted to about 3.5 billion rubles
- its total debt exceeded 19 billion rubles
In November 2023, a Russian court officially declared Google’s subsidiary bankrupt.
According to bankruptcy administrator Valery Talyarovsky, a total of 18 claims were filed by 16 creditors, which amounted to a record sum.
British court bans Russian TV channels from suing Google
At the same time, the High Court of England and Wales issued a ruling that effectively protects Google from having to comply with these claims.
The court ruled that such disputes can only be considered in the jurisdiction of:
- the US
- Great Britain
This means that Russian decisions may not have legal force outside Russia.
Is it realistic to collect such an amount from Google?
It is practically impossible to collect such an amount.
Google is a global corporation headquartered in the US, and Russian court decisions are not necessarily recognized by the international judicial system.
In addition, the amount of the fine itself significantly exceeds:
- the market value of Google
- the budgets of most countries in the world
- the total volume of the global economy
The Russian court’s decision to fine Google $1.2 quintillion was one of the most high-profile and unprecedented in global legal practice.
However, the actual enforcement of this decision remains unlikely due to international legal restrictions and jurisdiction.
