The General Prosecutor's Office is asking the court to "recover" from the gaming group of companies "Lesta Games" in favor of the state
The clouds are gathering. The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation has accused Malek Khatazhaev and Viktor Kisly of extremism and demanded the seizure of the game developers “World of Tanks” and “World of Warships.”
According to "RIA Novosti" materials, the lawsuit was filed by one of the deputies of the Russian Prosecutor General. Which one precisely is not specified, as there are nine in the country.
According to the prosecutor's office, the owner of "Lesta Games," Khatazhaev, and the owner of Wargaming, Kisly, together "form an extremist association" and "conduct extremist activities on the territory of Russia."
To substantiate this, the article cites various headlines mentioning Wargaming and War of Tanks in the spirit of "the company supported Ukraine," "the company is against the special operation."
A comment on the lawsuit from the company has already appeared in the official Telegram channel of “Lesta Games”:
“All business of ‘Lesta Games,’ led by Malik Athamovich, is conducted exclusively on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. All profits generated from operational activities are spent on the payroll of more than 2,200 employees, the purchase of new office premises, the development of new directions in computer game development, and improving the server infrastructure in the areas where our company operates. All funds received by the company are spent on activities exclusively in Russia and Belarus. The ‘Lesta Games’ group operates on the territory of Russia and Belarus in full compliance with the laws of our countries, rigorously complies with all government requirements, ensures the preservation of historical truth, and promotes family and patriotic values.”
Let us remind you that on April 24, it became known that at the request of the prosecutor's office, all legal entities of the Russian studio “Lesta Games” were arrested. At that time, the official reasons for the incident had not been named.
On April 25, information surfaced that the gaming company's lawyers had appealed the court's decision to seize "the firm's assets and related legal entities."
For reference, on July 1, 2022, the company Wargaming, whose headquarters is currently located in Cyprus, officially transferred its business in Russia and Belarus to Khatazhaev. It fully exited ownership of the Russian “Lesta” and Belarusian “Game Stream.”
Khatazhaev described the subsequent phase of team separation in an interview with the Belarusian ONT television channel as “a time of burning in hell.” The division of the business lasted a little over a year and was fully completed in August 2023. Since that moment, “Lesta Games” and Wargaming have been entirely separate.