The court recognized the activities of Lesta Games as extremist
By ForGeeks The Tagansky District Court of Moscow has recognized the activities of the game company Lesta Games as extremist in Russia. The court’s decision implies that the company will be included in the register of extremist organizations of Rosfinmonitoring, and the legal entities of Lesta Games will be converted to state revenue.
The company’s games may fall under the ban
The court ruling may lead to a ban on the distribution of Lesta Games’ games in Russia. In particular, it will affect the popular projects World of Tanks (the Russian version of World of Tanks), World of Ships, and Tanks Blitz.
Lesta Games has previously stated that their activities are fully compliant with the laws of Russia and Belarus, and that they have “nothing to fear.” However, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Lesta Games is linked to Wargaming, which owned World of Tanks and World of Warships until 2022. In 2022, Wargaming closed its offices in Russia and Belarus and ceased operations in these markets. Despite this, representatives of Lesta Games insisted that their work is out of politics, but in April this year, the company’s Russian assets were seized at the suit of the prosecutor’s office.
What is known about Lesta Games
Lesta Games has been developing Wargaming projects, including World of Tanks, in Russia since 2022. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, after Wargaming left the Russian market, Lesta Games continued to cooperate with the Cypriot company and also had indirect ties with the developer’s Ukrainian office.
The court’s ruling sets a precedent that could affect players who use Lesta Games’ products, as well as the video game industry in Russia as a whole. The issue of blocking access to the company’s games remains open.
The court recognized as extremist and banned the activities of the association consisting of Malik Khatajaev, the owner of Lesta, and Viktor Kislyy, the owner of Wargaming.
The Court recognizes Lesta Games’ activities as extremist was first published on ITZine.ru.
