Google’s French assets face a rare freeze after a Russian court ruling drags the tech giant into a complex international dispute

13 December 2025

In an unusual and geopolitically tinged legal development, Google is confronting the temporary freezing of about €110 million, roughly $129 million, of its assets in France after a court bailiff’s order followed a series of arbitration rulings from Russia. The action, revealed in official documents seen by Reuters on December 12, 2025, stems from litigation tied to the company’s now-defunct Russian subsidiary and represents a rare instance of Moscow-based judgments being enforced through foreign legal channels. The situation highlights the increasingly intricate interplay between legal jurisdictions, corporate operations and geopolitical tensions, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to legal filings, the temporary freeze targets shares of Google International held in France, a move that was requested by the court-appointed judicial administrator handling the affairs of Google Russia. That subsidiary entered bankruptcy in 2022 after Russian authorities seized its bank accounts and following multiple fines imposed on the company for alleged regulatory breaches. The French bailiff’s order, which applies only to assets in France, comes as part of an effort to enforce arbitration rulings issued by Moscow tribunals between 2024 and 2025. Those rulings found Google liable for improperly paying a dividend of roughly 10 billion roubles, equivalent to about $126 million at the time, in 2021.

The legal mechanism at work here is rooted in commercial arbitration rather than traditional criminal or civil proceedings. Arbitration tribunals in Moscow, operating under international commercial law, issued the judgments against Google. Under French legal procedures, the bailiff’s order freezing the assets is temporary unless formal recognition proceedings are initiated before the Paris Judicial Court within one month of the order. Lawyers representing the liquidator of Google Russia have indicated that they will file the necessary paperwork to seek formal recognition and enforcement of the Moscow decisions, a process that could take up to eighteen months. Should the French court grant that authorisation, the frozen assets could ultimately be seized to satisfy the arbitration awards.

Google, which is part of Alphabet Inc, one of the largest and most valuable companies in the world with a market capitalisation near $3.8 trillion, has the right to challenge the temporary freeze before the French enforcement judge. If successful, it could have the order lifted before any further court action, but legal experts say the mere prospect of the freeze draws attention to how foreign judgments can ripple across borders when companies operate in multiple jurisdictions and international legal treaties apply.

At the heart of the dispute is Google Russia’s administrator, who sought the French legal action after inheriting the responsibility to satisfy the Moscow arbitration court rulings against the company. Those rulings are unusual because they involve a Western tech giant’s dividend practices, a matter typically resolved within domestic courts rather than through international enforcement. The Russian tribunal’s ruling that the dividend was unlawful triggered the administrator’s efforts to identify enforceable assets outside Russia, particularly after the Russian entity’s bankruptcy and the seizure of its domestic assets.

The legal complexity is compounded by the fact that French law stipulates a relatively tight timeline for recognition proceedings. If the administrator’s team does not file the formal recognition application within the month following the freeze order, the temporary freeze will lapse automatically, and Google would regain full access to the assets pending any future legal action. However, once the paperwork is filed and the case is under review by the Paris Judicial Court, the process could unfold over many months, during which time the financial value and strategic implications of the frozen assets linger for both sides.

This development comes amid broader tensions over the use of Russian assets abroad. European nations have confronted complex questions about how to handle assets of Russia’s central bank and other state entities that were frozen after the invasion of Ukraine. In late 2025 the European Union agreed to indefinitely freeze some €210 billion in Russian central bank assets, a move intended to support loans to Ukraine but criticised by Moscow as illegal and subject to constitutional challenges. Russia’s central bank has responded by suing institutions like the Brussels-based Euroclear in a Moscow court, seeking compensation for what it sees as improper use of its assets. Those parallel legal battles underscore the growing entanglement of geopolitics and international commerce.

The freeze affecting Google is also part of a wider pattern of Western companies facing legal and regulatory challenges connected to Russia. Google Russia’s earlier fines and the seizure of its bank accounts in 2022 were among the first major blows to foreign tech firms as geopolitical events disrupted business operations in the country. With the Russian entity no longer operational, its administrator has pursued remedies through legal channels that reach beyond Russian borders, demonstrating how dormant business units can still have financial and legal reverberations far from home.

For Google, the asset freeze represents a legal hurdle rather than an existential threat. The core business of Google France, like other European subsidiaries, continues to operate, and Alphabet’s overall financial strength gives it resources to mount a robust defence. But the incident highlights how multinational corporations must navigate not only market forces and regulatory frameworks but also arbitration decisions and cross-border enforcement actions that can affect their global asset base.

As the Paris Judicial Court prepares to review formal recognition proceedings, industry observers will be watching closely. The outcome could set a precedent for how foreign arbitration awards are treated in major European jurisdictions, particularly when they originate from nations like Russia where political and economic pressures intertwine. For Google, the legal maneuvering ahead will likely involve strategic litigation and negotiation as it seeks to protect its assets and limit potential enforcement actions.