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Russian watchdog predicts fine of 7% of 2014 turnover for Google

The sum of the fine would include Google's revenues from sales of all applications in Google Play, music, videos, etc. for 2014 in Russia

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. Russia’s competition law violation penalty for US Google Corporation will most likely amount to 7% of the turnover in 2014 with addressed inflation, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Igor Artemyev said on Thursday, responding to the question from TASS.

"A fine in rubles, charged on the turnover in 2014. We will cater for inflation in the penalty amount. This will most likely be 7% of the annual turnover, subject to various factors and aggravating circumstances: protraction of process, etc.," Artemyev said.

According to experience of the regulator, Google may dispute the decision for at least a year and the process of curing the violation and paying the fine may last until 2017, FAS head added.

On September 14, 2015, the Federal Antimonopoly Service declared that Google - Google Inc. and Google Ireland Ltd. breached the law on protection of competition following a complaint filed by Russian search engine Yandex.

The sum of the fine includes Google's revenues from sales of all applications in Google Play, music, videos, etc. for 2014 in Russia.

TelecomDaily General Director Denis Kuskov estimated annual turnover of Google Play in Russia in more than $70 million.

Google filed an application to invalidate FAS decisions to Moscow Arbitration Court in December 2015. The timeframe to determine the fine for the company will depend on success in the court case, Artemyev said at the same time.