PARIS, December 10. /TASS/. Google France has received a court order on the seizure of 100% of its assets, Artur Zurabyan, a partner at Art de Lex, the law firm handling the case, told reporters.
Google France received an immediately enforceable order on the seizure of 100% of its shares on December 10, 2025, according to Zurabyan. The seizure was ordered in connection with the upcoming hearing in a Paris court of a lawsuit filed by its Russian subsidiary, Google LLC, against its parent company, Google International LLC. The seizure has been imposed as a security measure to prevent Google from attempting to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against its French subsidiary, Google France.
In 2022, the Russian subsidiary of the American company filed for bankruptcy. With assets of 3.5 bln rubles, the total amount of creditors' claims exceeded 19 bln rubles. During the trial, it was revealed that on the eve of bankruptcy, dividends totaling more than 112 mln euros (around 10 bln rubles) had been illegally withdrawn from the company to avoid paying off debts to creditors. According to Zurabyan, in addition to dividends, the bankruptcy case against Google LLC also challenges the withdrawal of funds from Russia after 2018 on a number of malicious transactions totaling over 140 bln rubles.
The consideration of Google LLC's application on the merits by a Paris court will be the next step, the lawyer noted. Google France and Google International LLC can appeal the seizure. However, if the Russian company's application is upheld, the assets arrested in France will be seized, and the proceeds will be used to pay off Russian creditors.
Google's asset seizure in France is not unique worldwide. In May 2025, the South African Supreme Court also seized Google LLC's assets in the country on similar grounds. The Russian subsidiary of the American company has begun procedures for the recognition and enforcement of Russian court decisions on the collection of money from the parent company in more than a dozen jurisdictions around the world.