In a staggering legal move, Russia has imposed a record fine of 20 undecillion rubles on Google, which equates to approximately $2.5 decillion, or $2,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. This monumental fine stems from Google's decision to remove various Russian state-run and government-affiliated YouTube channels following the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Russian news agency TASS reported that Google has violated the nation's administrative offenses code, resulting in this astronomical penalty. A Russian judge highlighted the unusual nature of the case, stating that it involves "many, many zeros." Should Google fail to remit payment within nine months, the fine will double every day without any cap, effectively locking Google out of the Russian market until the debt is cleared.

A representative for Google did not provide immediate comments regarding the fine. However, in its Q2 2024 earnings report, the company acknowledged facing significant pressures from Russian authorities. Google indicated that it has encountered civil judgments that include compounded penalties related to account terminations, especially for accounts belonging to sanctioned parties.

The origins of this legal situation trace back to a private complaint made in 2021 against Google for blocking the Tsargrad TV channel and RIA FAN due to U.S. sanctions. However, the situation escalated into a state matter when Google took action against major Russian state news agencies, including RT and Sputnik, in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Even if Google were inclined to comply with this judgment, the figure is astronomically high given the company's market value of $2.24 trillion. In the previous fiscal year, Google reported a global profit of $73.7 billion. To put this fine into perspective, it would take Google a staggering 33.8 quintillion years to pay it off—a timeline that continues to double the longer the company remains in noncompliance.

The magnitude of this fine surpasses the entire value of the global economy, which is estimated at around $105 trillion. Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, characterized the penalty as "an insane number." He noted that the fine is equivalent to approximately 1.9 x 10 to the 15 times greater than current global GDP. Furthermore, he pointed out that since the inception of the universe, roughly 5 x 10 to the 12 days have elapsed, and if Google were to contribute the entire annual global production, it would only cover about 3% of the fine.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, in October 2023, a Moscow court declared Google's Russian subsidiary bankrupt after the company filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2022. This filing occurred after Russian authorities froze its bank accounts, effectively preventing it from paying employees and vendors. While Moscow has intensified its pressure on Google regarding alleged illegal content, it has yet to restrict the usage of Google services among Russian citizens.

Historically, fines imposed on technology companies have been based on a percentage of their annual revenue. For instance, the European Union typically enforces a maximum fine of 10% of annual turnover for regulatory infringements. However, the fine levied against Google by Russia stands out as a unique and extreme case in the realm of regulatory penalties.

FORTUNE.COM