SAO PAULO (AP) – A judge in Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday seized about $3 million from bank accounts belonging to social media platform X and satellite-based internet service provider Starlink, both companies that Tech billionaire Elon Musk.

The move from Judge Alexandre de Moraes The aim was to collect funds equal to the amount that X owes the country in fines. The bank accounts of both companies have now been released.

Legal analysts have questioned de Moraes’ previous decision to freeze Starlink’s bank account to pay for cases related to X. Although Musk owns both X and SpaceX, which operates Starlink, the two companies are separate entities.

Brazil’s Supreme Court said in a statement on Friday that de Moraes ordered the transfer of more than 7.2 million Brazilian reals ($1.3 million) from an X bank account and nearly 11 million Brazilian reals ($2 million) from a Starlink account.

De Moraes made the decision on Wednesday, Brazil’s Supreme Court said. Its ruling in the case has not yet been published.

Brazil’s Supreme Court also said the banks where the two companies’ accounts are held were informed on Thursday that they had complied with the decision.

“After paying the entire amount owed, the judge (de Moraes) considered that it was not necessary to continue freezing the bank accounts and ordered the immediate release of the bank accounts/financial assets,” the Brazilian Supreme Court said.

X did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.

The social media platform is under fire in Brazil for refusing to remove content deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.

De Moraes is the same judge who suspended X in Brazil due to Musk’s decision not to have a legal representative for the company in the South American country, which violates the law.

The company has claimed that de Moraes wanted a representative in the country so that local authorities could exert pressure by having someone to arrest.

Many legal experts, including some who supported de Moraes’ rulings regarding X, disagree with holding Starlink liable for X’s fines.

“Starlink is a different company. The fact that it belongs to the same economic group does not mean that it is also liable for debts in which it was not involved. It did not even have a chance to defend itself,” said Lênio Streck, a renowned Brazilian lawyer, on his social media channels. “What could Starlink have done to prevent what the other company did?”

Luís Henrique Machado, a law professor at the IDP University in the capital Brasilia, said de Moraes’ decision was consistent.

“The social media company was punished for not removing content during an ongoing investigation despite an order from the Supreme Court. It is completely understandable that the judge is demanding payment of the fines,” Machado said. “The ruling requiring the compulsory transfer of the amounts is legitimate.”

Since last year, X has clashed with de Moraes over its refusal to ban some users, mainly far-right activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy. Musk has sued the Brazilian judiciary a dictator and an autocrat due to its judgments concerning its companies in Brazil.

On August 31, Musk’s social media platform was blocked nationwide and de Moraes imposed a daily fine of $9,000 for anyone using a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent the block. Brazil’s X users landed mainly on Threads and Bluesky.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally, carried by de Moraes’ decisions on Xa ban which they consider to be evidence of their political persecution.

X had 22 million users in Brazil, according to estimates by the Digital 2024: Brazil reportonly a sixth of the number on Instagram and about a fifth of the number on Facebook or TikTok.

Since January 2022, when Starlink began operations in Brazil, it has captured a 0.5 percent share of the internet market, according to Brazilian telecommunications agency Anatel.