Brazil Blocks Starlink Bank Accounts Due to Elon Musk

Judge Brazil’s Supreme Court Blocks Starlink Bank Accounts In a move to force Elon Musk to pay fines, J. Alexandre de Moraes, a top court judge and a vocal Musk foe, issued an order that freezes the satellite internet company’s finances in the country. The judge is leading a campaign against hate speech and disinformation in Brazil.

According to a report from BloombergJudge Alexandre de Moraes has blocked Starlink’s accounts in Brazil. The court issued the ruling on August 18. preventing Starlink from conducting transactions in this countryThe decision threatens SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which serves more than 250,000 Brazilians.

According to the official document, the Supreme Court decided to block Starlink accounts because The company is part of a “de facto economic group” led by Elon Musk.A local newspaper report said that Starlink employees in Brazil were notified to respond to amounts owed to X.

Elon Musk confirmed the blocking and accused Brazil of dictatorship“This guy, Alexander, is a criminal of the worst kind, disguised as a judge,” he said in the X publication.

On the other hand, Starlink released a statement saying that the order is unconstitutional and indicates that the company is not responsible for paying fines:

“This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be held liable for the fines imposed in violation of the constitution on X. It was issued in secret and did not grant Starlink any rights guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution. We intend to resolve this matter legally.”

Starlink is a victim of the fight between Brazil and Elon Musk

The decision to block Starlink accounts is part of Feud between Elon Musk and de Moraes. The tycoon believes the South American country is dominated by the whims of two men: Lula da Silva, the constitutional president, and Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge.

The conflict began in early April, when Brazilian judge orders X to block some accounts linked to far-right militants of this country. As expected, Elon refused to comply with the order and suggested that X users in Brazil use a VPN.

In turn, X’s office for global government affairs said that the account freezes were unfounded, although they could not disclose the details of what happened. “We are prohibited from saying which accounts were affected. They threaten us with daily fines if we do not comply.“, he mentioned in his X profile. The social network’s lawyers added that Judge Moraes threatened one of his representatives to send him to prison if he did not comply with the blocking of the accounts.