Now Visa/Mastercard target individuals if you say something against the USA (Mastercard has blocked a Brazilian Supreme Court judge’s transactions):
Alexandre de Moraes is a Justice (judge) of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil.
The cancellation of a Mastercard credit card issued by Banco do Brasil (BB) marked the first known consequence of applying the Magnitsky Act to Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Wikipedia info -
From around 2020, Moraes has generated wide public attention in Brazil and abroad for ordering several arrests, search warrants, and terminations of social media accounts of individuals and groups involved or suspected to be involved in planning coups and propagating fake news, in addition to brief nationwide blocks of widely used platforms that had failed to comply with Brazilian court orders, such as Telegram and Twitter, until their regularization under Brazilian law. He has been a widely controversial figure since, gathering a great number of both supporters and opponents. Among Moraes's supporters is the current president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and among his critics is the former president Jair Bolsonaro, American president Donald Trump, and Elon Musk.
What happened -
In Mr. Moraes’ case, his Mastercard card was canceled because it carried an American brand, not because BB has significant operations in the United States. He was offered an Elo card (Elo Card is Brazil's Domestic card) as a replacement, but it can only be used for domestic purchases, not dollar transactions. The justice does not hold accounts abroad, and banks have interpreted that nothing prevents him from maintaining his domestic BB account, through which he receives his salary.
Big picture -
This case is an example of how powerful sanctions (especially by the U.S.) can have effects far beyond their own borders. They force other countries, banks, and US financial institutions like Visa, MasterCard, Amex to make difficult choices between legal obligations, sovereignty, and practical risks.
In Brazil’s case, there’s a tension between respecting U.S. sanctions and preserving the country’s legal autonomy. People are watching this closely because how it’s resolved could set precedents for future cases where foreign sanctions bump up against a country’s domestic law.
Alexandre de Moraes is a Justice (judge) of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil.
The cancellation of a Mastercard credit card issued by Banco do Brasil (BB) marked the first known consequence of applying the Magnitsky Act to Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Wikipedia info -
From around 2020, Moraes has generated wide public attention in Brazil and abroad for ordering several arrests, search warrants, and terminations of social media accounts of individuals and groups involved or suspected to be involved in planning coups and propagating fake news, in addition to brief nationwide blocks of widely used platforms that had failed to comply with Brazilian court orders, such as Telegram and Twitter, until their regularization under Brazilian law. He has been a widely controversial figure since, gathering a great number of both supporters and opponents. Among Moraes's supporters is the current president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and among his critics is the former president Jair Bolsonaro, American president Donald Trump, and Elon Musk.
What happened -
- U.S. Sanction on Justice Moraes
The U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act. These sanctions freeze any of Moraes’s assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. persons from doing business with him. - Banks and American Card Companies respond by blocking / restricting transactions
Because of those sanctions, banks (especially those that have any tie to U.S. financial systems or handle transactions in U.S. dollars) began to restrict or block some of Moraes’s transactions, accounts, or financial instruments. Even Brazilian banks are being cautious.
In Mr. Moraes’ case, his Mastercard card was canceled because it carried an American brand, not because BB has significant operations in the United States. He was offered an Elo card (Elo Card is Brazil's Domestic card) as a replacement, but it can only be used for domestic purchases, not dollar transactions. The justice does not hold accounts abroad, and banks have interpreted that nothing prevents him from maintaining his domestic BB account, through which he receives his salary.
Big picture -
This case is an example of how powerful sanctions (especially by the U.S.) can have effects far beyond their own borders. They force other countries, banks, and US financial institutions like Visa, MasterCard, Amex to make difficult choices between legal obligations, sovereignty, and practical risks.
In Brazil’s case, there’s a tension between respecting U.S. sanctions and preserving the country’s legal autonomy. People are watching this closely because how it’s resolved could set precedents for future cases where foreign sanctions bump up against a country’s domestic law.
