Twitch Fights Russian Court’s Insane, Infinitely Growing Fine
Published On: February 26, 2025
Twitch is pushing back against a lawsuit from banned Russian streamer Kirill “Likkrit” Malofeyev, who won a case in a Russian court that fined Twitch an absurd amount—reportedly more than “all the money in the world.” The Amazon-owned platform is now countersuing in the U.S., arguing that the ruling is unfair and that the fines have reached levels beyond comprehension.
Likkrit, a former pro-League of Legends player, was banned from Twitch in early 2022. His suspension happened around the same time the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and businesses after Russia invaded Ukraine. His father, Konstantin Malofeyev, is a Russian oligarch who was sanctioned for allegedly running a “worldwide sanctions evasion and malign influence network.”
Because of the sanctions, Twitch also had to stop paying Russian streamers. In March 2022, the platform sent emails to affected users, explaining that payments would only resume when legally allowed.
Likkrit wasn’t happy about the ban and took Twitch to court in Russia. His first lawsuit in June 2022 was dismissed, but in October, a Russian court ruled in his favor. The court demanded that Twitch reinstate his account or start paying a fine of 100,000 rubles per day (about $1,100). To make things even crazier, the fine doubles at the end of each week, with no limit.
Twitch refused to restore Likkrit’s account, and as a result, the fines have snowballed to ridiculous levels. The company’s legal team now claims the total amount demanded is larger than “all the money in the world.”
To put things in perspective, Likkrit’s Twitch account only made about $2,000 before it was banned. Twitch is arguing that the fine is completely unreasonable and unfair.
Likkrit then tried to get Amazon’s office in Turkey involved, hoping to enforce the Russian ruling there. But Twitch argues that his agreements were with Twitch—not Amazon—so the enforcement attempt doesn’t hold up legally.
Twitch files a countersuit in the U.S.
Now, Twitch is fighting back in U.S. courts. They’re asking a judge to block the Russian ruling, saying that it was designed to bypass U.S. sanctions. Twitch also claims that they weren’t properly notified about the Russian court proceedings, meaning they didn’t even get a chance to defend themselves. On top of that, Twitch points out that Likkrit agreed to Twitch’s terms of service when he signed up, which state that any legal disputes have to go through arbitration—not Russian courts.
Twitch isn’t the first company to run into this kind of issue. YouTube faced something similar after banning Russian channels. This case is just another example of the ongoing battle between big tech companies and Russian authorities over sanctions, content bans, and who really has control over online platforms. Now, it’s up to the U.S. courts to decide whether Twitch can escape this massive fine—or if the numbers will just keep climbing into infinity.