The EU is preparing to fine Google over its multi-billion dollar advertising empire as a high-profile investigation into its Android operating system is pushed back to next year.

Europe’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is gearing up to hit the web giant with an antitrust penalty over AdSense, its powerful advertising network, with a decision expected in the next few weeks.

It will be the second fine in less than a year, after Google was ordered to pay €2.4bn (£2.1bn) in June for abusing its internet search monopoly to promote its online shopping service.

While June’s penalty was a record for a European competition case, it was merely the first in a hat-trick of antitrust investigations into Google. Last year the commission issued two further “statements of objection”, claiming the company attaches onerous requirements to the Android operating system, and that it ties websites that use AdSense to exclusivity arrangements that throttle competitors.

Google enjoys dominant positions in both markets, and any attempt to exploit this is seen as a breach of antitrust rules.