The lawyer revealed the details of the trial of the creators of the "World of Tanks"

The Tagansky District Court of Moscow gave the defense of the Lesta Games group of companies time for one week to review additional evidence provided by the Prosecutor General's Office. Lawyer Roman Makarov told Izvestia about this on May 27.

"We are at the stage of procedural petitions. The court gave us one week to review the additional evidence provided by the Prosecutor General's Office. The Prosecutor General's Office requests other government agencies, for example, the Tax Service, Rosfinmonitoring and other authorities about things related to the court session. Then these materials are attached. <...> A number of documents were attached today," he explained.

According to him, during the court proceedings, the defense pointed out that the founder of Lester Games, Malik Khatazhayev, is a hereditary officer, the son of an airborne officer, graduated from the higher naval school. The lawyers are trying to prove that neither the players who play tanks, nor the company's employees, nor Khatazhayev are extremists.

Makarov clarified that the company creates patriotic development projects, as well as conducts relevant campaigns.

"Malik at the previous court hearing allowed himself a short speech about the fact that in the game "World of Tanks" there was an initiative called "Carnation". Those who raised money through the game to help veterans of the Great Patriotic War received a patch, that is, a sticker on the tank in the form of a carnation. With this money, for example, a hospital for veterans was renovated in Minsk. I think the court was impressed," Makarov added.

It's out of the game: the developers of the "World of tanks" may lose business as early as May

Will the trial affect Russian gamers

The Lesta Games Group of companies will have to prove its innocence of extremism and financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Earlier, in April 2025, the Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit demanding that a 100 percent share of Lesta Games be converted into state revenue and that the association of its owner Malik Khatazhayev and Wargaming owner Viktor Kisly be banned in Russia for "extremist activities." We are talking about the shares of the companies "Lesta", "Lesta Games Agency" and "Lesta Games Moscow".

As Mikhail Pimenov, Director of the game industry development at Synergy University, told Izvestia on May 21, if Lesta's management is unable to provide convincing evidence of their innocence, this could lead to serious consequences for their business. First of all, legal risks for management may include criminal prosecution. In extreme cases, the company's activities can be completely stopped and its assets confiscated.