Brazil confiscates funds belonging to Musk
Brazilian authorities have seized approximately $3.3 million from accounts of X and Starlink that were previously frozen, in order to cover a fine. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
The Brazilian Supreme Court recently lifted the freeze on the bank accounts of X and Starlink, only to immediately withdraw $3.3 million to cover a fine imposed on Elon Musk's social media platform.
In late August, Judge Alexandre de Moraes halted the operations of X in Brazil and also froze the assets of Starlink, stating that they operated as a "de facto economic group."
"With the full payment of the amount due, [de Moraes] considered that there was no longer any need to keep the bank accounts blocked and ordered the immediate unblocking of the bank accounts/financial assets, motor vehicles and real estate of the aforementioned companies,” according to a statement issued by the court on Friday.
The court documented that a total of 18.35 million Brazilian reals were extracted from the two accounts, with 11 million taken from Starlink and the remainder from X.
The penalties were imposed because the companies failed "to remove content after an order from the [court] in ongoing investigations, in addition to having removed its legal representatives from Brazil," as stated by the court.
Musk has not publicly responded to the seizure of these funds. He had previously criticized the freezing of Starlink's accounts as "absolutely illegal," pointing out that it operates as an independent entity with distinct shareholders. In a bold statement earlier in the month, he also warned of possible retaliatory actions against Brazilian state assets.
“Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too,” Musk declared earlier. “Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial,” he added, referencing Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.
Furthermore, de Moraes issued a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals against anyone using a virtual private network to access X. No enforcement of this fine has been reported yet, even though numerous high-profile Brazilians, including several political parties, continue to use the platform.
The conflict initiated in April when de Moraes demanded X to delete accounts of some supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing them of disseminating “disinformation” about him and the judiciary. Musk resisted compliance, asserting such action would conflict with Brazilian laws.
The situation intensified when de Moraes reportedly threatened X’s Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment and froze all her bank accounts after her resignation. He then used the absence of legal representation as grounds for the fine and the suspension of X’s operations.
“Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders,” X proclaimed in its response at that time.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
In late August, Judge Alexandre de Moraes halted the operations of X in Brazil and also froze the assets of Starlink, stating that they operated as a "de facto economic group."
"With the full payment of the amount due, [de Moraes] considered that there was no longer any need to keep the bank accounts blocked and ordered the immediate unblocking of the bank accounts/financial assets, motor vehicles and real estate of the aforementioned companies,” according to a statement issued by the court on Friday.
The court documented that a total of 18.35 million Brazilian reals were extracted from the two accounts, with 11 million taken from Starlink and the remainder from X.
The penalties were imposed because the companies failed "to remove content after an order from the [court] in ongoing investigations, in addition to having removed its legal representatives from Brazil," as stated by the court.
Musk has not publicly responded to the seizure of these funds. He had previously criticized the freezing of Starlink's accounts as "absolutely illegal," pointing out that it operates as an independent entity with distinct shareholders. In a bold statement earlier in the month, he also warned of possible retaliatory actions against Brazilian state assets.
“Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too,” Musk declared earlier. “Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial,” he added, referencing Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.
Furthermore, de Moraes issued a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals against anyone using a virtual private network to access X. No enforcement of this fine has been reported yet, even though numerous high-profile Brazilians, including several political parties, continue to use the platform.
The conflict initiated in April when de Moraes demanded X to delete accounts of some supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing them of disseminating “disinformation” about him and the judiciary. Musk resisted compliance, asserting such action would conflict with Brazilian laws.
The situation intensified when de Moraes reportedly threatened X’s Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment and froze all her bank accounts after her resignation. He then used the absence of legal representation as grounds for the fine and the suspension of X’s operations.
“Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders,” X proclaimed in its response at that time.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
