Russia fines Google US$20 decillion over refusal to pay fines

Russia is seeking an unfathomable sum of money from one of the world’s biggest tech companies.

Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles — a 2 followed by 36 zeroes — after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube.

The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to US$20 decillion — or around $20 billion trillion trillion. That dwarfs the size of the global economy.

At $110 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund figures, world gross domestic product looks modest in comparison. Google parent Alphabet, meanwhile, has a market value of around $2 trillion.

Russian state media TASS reported this week that a Russian court had earlier ordered Google to restore the YouTube channels — several of which have been blocked since 2022 — or else face mounting charges, with penalties doubling every week.

Asked about the lawsuit during a call with reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that he “can’t even pronounce this figure right” but said that the eye-watering sum was “filled with symbolism.” Google “should not be restricting the actions of our broadcasters on its platform,” he added.

CNN has contacted Google for comment. In quarterly earnings published this week, the company referred to “ongoing legal matters” relating to its business in Russia.

“Civil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed upon us in connection with disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties,” Google said. “We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect (on earnings).”

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Google curtailed operations in the country but stopped short of pulling out altogether, in contrast with several other American tech companies. Many of its services, including Search and YouTube, continue to be available in the country.

Months after the invasion, Google’s Russia subsidiary filed for bankruptcy and paused most of its commercial operations after the government seized control of its bank accounts.