Warnings raised over Russian tech giant Yandex’s UK operation

theguardian.com:

The government has been urged to restrict the UK operation of Russia’s biggest technology company amid concern over its ties to the Kremlin.

Yandex, Russia’s equivalent to Google, is headquartered in Moscow but operates in more than 17 countries and recently launched Yango Deli in London, a service offering 15-minute delivery to households of food, alcohol and toiletries.

The parent company, which offers map, search, taxi and shopping services, has been subject to sanctions in Ukraine since 2017 following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Last Monday, the Lithuanian government requested that the Yandex taxi app be pulled from the Google and Apple stores, saying it “threatens national security”, Reuters reported.

Uber also announced last week that it was seeking to “accelerate” the sale of its stake in a joint venture with Yandex, which is legally headquartered in the Netherlands but has its main offices in Russia.

But the tech giant, founded by Arkady Volozh, one of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen, has not been subject to sanctions or scrutiny in the UK – and Yango Deli, which was launched in London in October, continues to operate as usual.

The grocery app, one of several ultra-fast delivery services to have arrived in the capital in recent months, sells 2,500 items, including fresh fruit and vegetables, Hovis bread and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as well as running seasonal promotions, such as a 15-minute tree delivery at Christmas and red roses for Valentine’s Day.

It has ambitions to expand: it is currently running ads on the Apple store and ultimately wants to achieve “nationwide coverage”, the company’s UK manager, Evgeny Chernikov, said in December. On 21 February, a few days before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Yango Deli