Blocked Account By Government, Google Russia Files Bankruptcy Statement

JAKARTA - Google Russia, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has filed a bankruptcy declaration. This is known from a report by the Interfax news agency on Friday, June 17, citing an online court filing.

Google Russia already announced plans to file for bankruptcy in May, after authorities confiscated its bank accounts. This condition makes it impossible for them to pay staff and vendors.

"The confiscation of Google Russia's bank accounts by Russian authorities has rendered our offices in Russia unable to function ... Therefore, Google Russia has filed for bankruptcy," said a company spokesman, who was also quoted by Reuters.

"People in Russia rely on our services... and we will continue to provide free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play," the source added.

The Russian government has indeed restricted access to several social media such as Twitter and Meta Platform Inc's flagship social networks, Facebook and Instagram.

Google and its YouTube video hosting service, although under pressure, remain available for now on Russian territory. Previously, Moscow specifically objected to YouTube's treatment of Russian media, which it had blocked.

But Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma's committee on information policy, said the US company was not yet at risk of being blocked.