On Monday, Russia reported that Apple had paid the penalty of 906 million rubles ($12.1 million) charged by Russian courts that accused it of abusing its market position.
The Kremlin in recent years has separated Russia from Western tech giants that it believes pose a threat to Moscow’s power to handle the distribution of information among Russians.
“Apple paid a 906 million-ruble anti-trust fine,” Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said, confirming authorities received the funds.
Apple stopped sales of its products in Russia momentarily after the Kremlin deployed armies to Ukraine in February last year. The case against Apple was initiated by Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm, which was considered a national security threat by the United States in March 2022.
Kaspersky said in 2020 that Apple had blocked access to its newly-developed parental control app as the American firm was poised to launch a similar service. Apple previously told AFP it “respectfully opposed” the assessment that it had manipulated its market position. It petitioned the decision but Russian courts maintained the order.
In 2021, Russia passed lawmaking requiring all devices with internet access sold in the country to be equipped with authorized software produced by Russian companies. The controversial bill was introduced to promote Russia’s tech companies but analysts said it was an attempt to tighten state control over the internet.
