The dissolved Google Russia business manager secured a temporary seizure order for approximately €110 million ($129 million) of Google’s assets in France. This action marks a significant development in international legal disputes, including the ongoing Google assets seizure.
According to Jadeh Makhsoos News Agency, Mehr News Agency, citing Reuters, reports this action represents a rare attempt by Russian authorities to use legal channels. They aim to target Western company assets abroad. Tensions are rising over Europe’s potential use of seized Russian assets.
Russia’s Central Bank separately sued the European financial institution Euroclear. Euroclear holds many of Russia’s seized assets. The action against Google’s French branch involves Google International shares. Google’s Russian subsidiary initiated this action.
A French bailiff declined to comment. Google, Google’s Russia head, and the French government did not respond to repeated Reuters requests for comment. The French judicial official’s orders indicate his action relies on three rulings. Moscow arbitration courts, operating under international commercial law, issued these rulings between 2024 and 2025, paving the way for the Google assets seizure.
Jadeh Makhsoos reports, William Jouly, the liquidator’s representative at French law firm WJ Avocats, stated a Russian court found Google guilty. Google illegally paid dividends in 2021, totaling approximately 10 billion rubles ($126 million). He added that the Russian liquidator is pursuing enforcement of these rulings in Spain, Turkey, and South Africa.
Google, whose parent company Alphabet holds a value of approximately $3.8 trillion, has faced multiple fines from the Russian government. Google’s Russian branch declared bankruptcy in 2022. At that time, Russian authorities seized the company’s bank account.
The French judicial official’s order constitutes a temporary seizure. Under French law, lawyers must initiate the formal recognition process for the ruling within one month; otherwise, the seizure will lose its validity. Jouly said they would submit the relevant documents to the court in the coming days, and Google France also received notification of this process. According to Jouly, the Paris Judicial Court will then review whether it should authorize the formal recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards. This process could take up to eighteen months, and this temporary Google assets seizure highlights ongoing legal battles.