[Regnum] On December 10, a Paris court issued Google France an immediate seizure order for 100% of its shares. This decision was made in connection with the upcoming hearing of a lawsuit filed by Russian Google LLC against Google International LLC.
Google International LLC is the parent company of both the Russian Google LLC and the French Google France. The Moscow Arbitration Court is currently considering the bankruptcy case of the Russian subsidiary.
A Paris court is set to consider a Russian company's application to enforce a Moscow Arbitration Court ruling to recover €112 million in dividends illegally withdrawn from Google LLC on the eve of its bankruptcy.
Google LLC's claim is based on a ruling by the Moscow Arbitration Court issued in the bankruptcy case against Google LLC. The arbitration court and higher courts found that the dividend payment was intentionally made by the debtor to evade repayment of its debt to creditors.
The arrest was imposed as a security measure to prevent Google from attempting to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against its French subsidiary GoogleFrance, similar to what Google did with its Russian subsidiary, pending the completion of the French court's review of Google LLC's application.
According to William Julie, a French lawyer for Google LLC, the outcome of the application goes beyond the scope of a typical commercial dispute.
"This raises questions about the liability of an American big tech company (GAFAM) for the actions of its subsidiary, as well as the ability of national judicial systems to ensure compliance by large corporations. A company cannot profit for years through its local subsidiary and then suddenly withdraw all assets from it in violation of its obligations to employees, suppliers, and customers," he noted.
As Artur Zurabyan, a partner at ART DE LEX, the law firm coordinating the international legal team on the project, pointed out, in addition to dividends, the Google LLC bankruptcy case also challenges the withdrawal of funds from Russia after 2018 through a series of harmful transactions totaling over 140 billion rubles (US$1.8 billion). Given Google's lack of assets in Russia (which was, in fact, its objective in withdrawing assets), the relevant Russian court decisions, once issued, may also be subject to exequatur (recognition and enforcement in foreign countries).
Google's asset seizure in France is not unique. The South African Supreme Court previously, in May 2025, seized Google LLC's assets in the country on similar grounds. Overall, the Russian subsidiary has now initiated proceedings to recognize and enforce Russian court decisions to recover funds from its parent company in more than a dozen jurisdictions worldwide.