Elon Musk's $3 (CAD 4) million assets seized by Brazilian court

A judge of the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the seizure of about $3 million from the accounts of the Starlink system and platform X, owned by Elon Musk, due to fines imposed on the social media service, notes a statement from the Supreme Court.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes decided to transfer $1.3 (CAD 1.7) million from the account of one of the largest social platforms, X (formerly Twitter). A similar decision was made regarding Starlink, from which almost $2 (CAD 2.7) million reached the state treasury.

After the payment of the full amount that was owed, the justice (de Moraes) considered there was no need to keep the bank accounts frozen and ordered the immediate unfreezing of bank accounts/financial assets – announced the court.

De Moraes' decision to block Starlink's account due to fines imposed on X was met with skepticism by some lawyers. Despite the fact that both the social media platform and the satellite internet system belong to Elon Musk, they operate as separate companies – reminds AP agency.

The problems of the service X in Brazil began when Judge de Moraes demanded the removal of accounts suspected of spreading disinformation, including many linked to supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Musk indicated that he would not comply with this order.

Additionally, de Moraes ordered the blockage of X in Brazil starting August 31, explaining that Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for the company in that country, which is against local law. According to the company, Judge de Moraes wants the appointment of a local representative to have a bargaining chip in the form of a threat of his arrest.