Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has detected several violations of the Russian advertising laws in an eToro ad disseminated via Google AdWords.

The FAS investigation followed a complaint by Russia’s FX self-regulatory organization AFD. The ad in question concerned products and services offered by eToro (Europe) Ltd. The ad (in Russian) stated that eToro is the world’s biggest social trading platform, offering investments in shares, oil, crypto, bonds, currencies and gold.

The Moscow office of FAS has determined that the ad violates the law by (inter alia) making incorrect comparisons with services offered by other firms and advertising the services of a company that operates without a license issued by the Central Bank of Russia.

FAS has taken action against Google LLC regarding violations of the Russian law on advertising.

This is not the first time the Russian authorities take action against Google over investment ads.

In January 2021, for instance, FAS imposed a fine of RUB 100,000 on Google LLC for violations of the advertising law.

The regulator noted that the law prohibits the advertising of services and products offered by entities that lack the necessary licenses. The website google.com, however, delivered ads of the investment services offered by Rypex trading limited. As FX News Group has reported, FAS has found Google in breach of the advertising law for the dissemination of Rypex ads, as Rypex did not have the necessary licenses for providing investment services in Russia.

FAS explains that Google LLC bears the responsibility for the legal status of the products and services on its website.