Google may be fined 20% of its annual revenue in Russia for repeat offences

Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor said Google could be fined up to 8 million roubles ($91,533), or as much as 20 per cent of the company's annual revenue in Russia for repeat offences.

Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Tuesday said it had drawn up two administrative cases against Alphabet’s Google for failing to remove banned information, accusing it of blatantly promoting false content.

Roskomnadzor said Google could be fined up to 8 million roubles ($91,533), or as much as 20 per cent of the company’s annual revenue in Russia for repeat offences. It said YouTube had become one of the key platforms involved in the “information war” against Russia.

Google did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Separately, the CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai said on Tuesday that information technology companies are focused on providing reliable information and stymying Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine.

Pichai met with Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw to discuss ways of aiding the people of war-torn Ukraine.

Russia to buy back $2 bn in Eurobond for rubles
 

Russia said on Tuesday it was launching a buyback offer on its $2-billion sovereign Eurobonds maturing on April 4, its biggest debt payment of the year, and would make full payment to bondholders taking up the offer in rubles.

The move follows ever-tightening Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion on Ukraine.

The Eurobonds would be bought at a price equivalent to 100 per cent of their nominal value, it said. The bond has a 30-day grace period and no provisions for payments in alternative currencies, according to JPMorgan.