Now It's OK: Google Pays $7.7 Million Fine in Russia

The tech giant has paid a fine amounting to $7.7 million, according to Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US IT giant Google has paid an administrative fine worth 438 million rubles ($7.7 million), imposed by Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), FAS said in a statement Thursday.

"Google Inc has paid an administrative fine of 438 million rubles, imposed by FAS," the statement said.

FAS and Google on April 17 put an end to the two-year litigation in the case on the pre-installation onto Android OS devices of competing applications, concluding an amicable agreement. Under the agreement's terms, Google will pay all FAS penalties, including for failure to comply with an order on time. Google will also give up the exclusivity of its Android apps in Russia, pledging not to restrict the pre-installation of any competing search engines and applications.

For violation of antitrust laws, FAS imposed on Google a fine of 438 million rubles, which accounted for 9 percent of the company's turnover on Russia's mobile apps market for 2014. Then, on November 2, 2016, FAS fined Google Inc. and Google Ireland Limited a total of 1 million rubles ($17,500) for non-compliance with the order. The US company contested all FAS acts in court, but, having lost several lawsuits, initiated talks on a peaceful settlement of the dispute.