Russian Supreme Court Rejects Google Appeal in Antitrust Case

Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected US-based tech giant Google's appeal against a fine for violating Russian antitrust laws.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In January, Google filed a complaint with the Supreme Court against a Moscow court's ruling that its appeal against Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) fines could not be heard by the Intellectual Property Court as requested by the company.

The Supreme Court economic dispute panel has decided to uphold the lower court's decision, according to information published on its website. Details of the ruling were not published as the hearing was held behind closed doors.

Google has filed a total of three lawsuits against FAS and asked the service to extend the terms of complying with antitrust laws and paying its fines, a request turned down by the service. The FAS decision has been confirmed by two arbitration courts. The last appeal is currently with the Moscow District Federal Arbitration Court. The next hearing is due on February 28.

FAS seeks to fine Google 438 million rubles ($7.6 million) for violating the country’s antitrust rules on the pre-installed mobile applications market. The violations included pre-installing a number of its apps along with Google Play, as well as precluding the installation of apps made by other companies. The case was launched after a complaint by Google’s local rival Yandex.

The antitrust watchdog called Google's appeals "delaying tactics" after the company failed to stop its violations as well as failing to pay its multibillion-dollar fine. Google was ordered to stop the violations by December 18, 2015. The final deadline expired in late August that year.

The company also must pay a $7,800 penalty for failing to comply with FAS regulations in a timely manner. Earlier this month, FAS said it will consider a second fine of 438-million rubles in early March.