The European Union has expanded its sanctions lists against Russia, adding the company VK and its subsidiary, the investment firm Communication Platform, which developed and maintains the national messenger Max, according to the EU's official journal.
The EU Council claims that the development of Max was carried out under the control of the Federal Security Service (FSB). According to European authorities, the app has extensive surveillance capabilities: it can track VPN usage, collect data on installed applications and contacts, determine geolocation, and install automatic updates. Max is subject to mandatory pre-installation on all mobile phones and tablets sold in Russia and is integrated with the state services portal Gosuslugi.
The EU also noted that the promotion of Max was accompanied by pressure on competitors — WhatsApp and Telegram — as well as a campaign to restrict access to VPNs. Information collected through Max, according to the EU Council, has already served as the basis for a fine imposed on a Russian citizen for published content, likely referring to the case of Ivan Kazhan.
The VK holding itself, the EU decision states, supported repressive actions by Russian authorities: it transferred data of users who published materials critical of the war against Ukraine and participated in blocking VPNs. "Thus, VK provides technical support for repression against civil society and the democratic opposition," the EU Council concluded.
A VK press service representative told RBC that the EU sanctions do not affect the company's operations or the Max messenger: "Applications and services are available to users in their usual mode."
In total, the updated sanctions list published on July 13 includes 11 individuals and five companies. In addition to VK and Communication Platform, the restrictions target developers and suppliers of software for systems of operational-search activities (SORM), used by the FSB for surveillance — VAS Experts, Norsi-Trans, and Tsitadel.
The list also includes the heads of these companies, such as Communication Platform CEO Elena Bagudina, VAS Experts CEO Dmitry Gachko, Norsi-Trans ultimate owner Sergei Ovchinnikov, and Tsitadel executive director Mikhail Fomin.
Additionally, sanctions were imposed on the head of Mordovia's penal colony No. 10, Alexander Gnutov, his deputies Alexei Anashkin, Yegor Averkin, Alexander Grishanin, Semyon Kuznetsov, and Ivan Veshkin, as well as the head of the medical department of the same colony, Galina Mokshanova. They were added to the list for torture and cruel treatment of prisoners.