Trump Administration Expands Brazil Sanctions to Justice Moraes’s Family Business Empire

The US Treasury sanctioned Viviane Barci de Moraes and her family’s LEX legal institute on September 22, cutting them off from American financial markets.

Officials invoked the Global Magnitsky Act, aimed at corrupt or rights-violating individuals worldwide. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control froze all US-based assets of Barci de Moraes and LEX. It barred US persons from any dealings with them.

This move follows July’s Magnitsky sanctions on her husband, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw former President Jair Bolsonaro’s coup-plot trial.

Bolsonaro received a 27-year prison sentence on September 11 for plotting to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election. The US administration denounced the trial as politically driven. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Moraes of abusing his power to stifle opposition.

The sanctions expose the Moraes family’s financial reach. Viviane Barci de Moraes leads a law firm representing major banks handling billions in government debt.

LEX owns at least R$12.4 ($2.4) million in real estate, including a R$12 million mansion in Brasília’s Lago Sul, bought with cash weeks earlier.

Washington also slapped 50 percent tariffs on many Brazilian exports in July and threatened visa bans for other judges. These measures mark an unprecedented US challenge to a democratic ally’s judiciary.

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva called the sanctions “unacceptable interference.” His government explores legal remedies and strengthens alternative trade ties as economic pressure mounts.

By targeting family assets, the US signals it will use financial tools to influence Brazil’s political landscape. Observers now watch for further sanctions or possible amnesty legislation that could ease tensions.

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