Telegram Messenger in the dark as to why fines in Russia were dropped

Telegram Messenger said it does not know why fines against it and other major technology companies were dropped in Russia, but said it has no assets, offices or employees there.

Fines imposed by Russian courts on Alphabet’s Google and YouTube, Meta, TikTok and Telegram appear to have been settled as the companies are no longer registered as debtors in the state bailiffs’ database, online records showed this week.

“Telegram has no assets, offices, employees or equipment in Russia,” a Telegram spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. “Without any presence there, we have no visibility as to why the fines against Telegram and the other companies were dropped.”