Google Russia To File For Bankruptcy After Bank Account Seized

The tech giant says that people in Russia will still be able to access ‘free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play available.’

Google said Wednesday that its Russian subsidiary will file for bankruptcy after authorities in that country seized the tech giant unit’s bank account over Google’s stance on Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

“The Russian authorities’ seizure of Google Russia’s bank account has made it untenable for our Russia office to function, including employing and paying Russia-based employees, paying suppliers and vendors, and meeting other financial obligations,” a Google spokesperson confirmed to CRN in an email. “Google Russia has published a notice of its intention to file for bankruptcy.”

Google said that people in Russia will still be able to access “free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play available.”

[RELATED STORY: Russia Invasion Of Ukraine Poses Grave Threat To MSPs: Lt. General Russel Honore]

At the same time, Google has moved the vast majority of its employees out of Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Many U.S. tech companies such as Accenture, IBM, Red Hat and Intel ceased operations in Russia after President Vladimir Putin directed his military to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24 of this year. The war has resulted in 3,778 killed and 4,186 injured, according to Human Rights Watch.

In March, Google said it paused Google ads in Russia, followed by a pause on the majority of commercial activity in the country “including ads on our properties and networks globally for all Russian-based advertisers, new Cloud sign ups, the payments functionality for most of our services, and monetization features for YouTube viewers in Russia,” the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said.