Русский
In a classic example of how convoluted and opaque the US sanctions upon Russia can be, the American iphone manufacturer Apple has paid a ₽1.18 billion (US$12.3 million) fine to the Russian government after a court in Moscow found the US tech giant guilty of abusing its dominant market position through its App Store.
FAS, Russia’s anti-monopoly watchdog, announced in late January this year it had received the payment, following a November 2023 ruling that found Apple had prohibited app developers from informing customers that they can pay for their purchases outside the App Store.
The dispute between Apple and Russia’s competition regulator dates back several years, and is not the first time Apple has paid fines in the country. The iPhone-maker also paid a ₽906 million (US$10.1 million) fine in 2022 for a different violation of antimonopoly law, according to the FAS. Other western tech groups, including Google, have also paid fines following action by FAS in recent years.
In order to pay fines imposed by the Russian government, US companies must seek permission from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the body that enforces trade controls.
Apple stopped sales of its physical products in 2022, but its App Store and some of its subscription services still operate. At the end of 2022, Apple gave up its office in the centre of Moscow, however it still has two legal entities that operate in the country.
Apple has removed the apps of some Russian news outlets and Western sanctioned Russian banks from its mobile store. iPhones are still widely in use in Russia, with the company manufacturing iphones for the Russian consumer market yet using third party dealers in countries such as Turkiye, Kazakhstan and the UAE for selling onto Russian users. Apples sale of iphones indirectly to Russia were estimated to be worth about US$2 billion in revenues to the company during 2023.
