"Lesta Games" owes the state more than 11 billion rubles. UPDATED
The Russian authorities have demanded that the group of companies "Lesta Games" transfer a large sum to the country's budget. This was reported by "Kommersant" citing data from the Federal Bailiff Service.
“World of Ships”
According to the newspaper, two legal entities of the developer of "World of Ships" and "World of Tanks" are listed as debtors. Enforcement proceedings have already been initiated against them. Specifically:
- LLC "Lesta Games Agency" owes 11.4 billion rubles;
- LLC "Lesta" owes an additional 239.7 million rubles.
It is unclear how "Lesta Games" accumulated this debt to the state. According to representatives of the gaming market interviewed by "Kommersant", the Russian authorities might have lost out on funds when they nationalized the group's assets last year. For instance, a court had earlier found that the previous management of "Lesta Games" attempted to transfer 150 million rubles through the "RED EXPO" exhibition.
11.6 billion rubles is just under a tenth of the total value of "Lesta Games," according to Forbes data. As a reminder, in February, the publication valued the group of companies at 1.6 billion dollars, or approximately 129.5 billion rubles at the current rate.
"Lesta Games" told "Kommersant" in a comment that the debt recovery process will not affect the group's future plans or the operations of its games.
Update: "Lesta Games" reported on their official Telegram channel that the debt situation has been resolved.
"Enforcement proceedings for a total amount exceeding 11 billion rubles, which the media reported this morning, have been terminated. The debt was not a result of our operational activities and bears no consequences for our work. We did not use borrowed resources for development, and all tax obligations were timely fulfilled. The company is profitable and managed to significantly increase operating profit in the second half of the year," wrote "Lesta Games."