U.S. Lifts Moraes Sanctions, Exposing How Fast Brazil Becomes A Bargaining Chip

Key Points

1. Washington removed Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his wife, and the Lex Institute from the Magnitsky sanctions list on December 12, 2025.

2. The shift follows pressure that began in July, widened in September, and then ran into diplomatic and economic blowback.

3. The lesson is clear: Brasília’s court battles can spill into trade, banking, and market risk.

The U.S. Treasury has delisted Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes from the Global Magnitsky sanctions program, and also removed his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the Lex Institute.

Magnitsky designations can freeze U.S. assets and bar U.S. persons and firms from dealing with a target.

The arc began in late July, when the Trump administration sanctioned Moraes over alleged abuses tied to detentions and speech restrictions in cases linked to former president Jair Bolsonaro.

In September, Washington broadened the action to include Barci de Moraes and the Lex Institute.

U.S. Lifts Moraes Sanctions, Exposing How Fast Brazil Becomes A Bargaining Chip

Then the calculation changed. A senior U.S. official said keeping Moraes designated no longer fit U.S. foreign-policy interests.

U.S. officials also pointed to Brazil’s lower house passing a bill that would reduce sentences for Bolsonaro and others convicted of anti-democratic acts, calling it progress.

The measure still must clear the Senate and could be vetoed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Lula says he asked Trump to lift the sanctions in a phone call, while aides deny any quid pro quo. The thaw had already shown itself after Trump and Lula met at the U.N. General Assembly on September 23.

On November 20, the White House modified the scope of extra tariffs on Brazil, carving out certain agricultural products and citing initial progress with Brasília.

In Brazil, the delisting lands amid a parallel controversy. Reporting links Barci de Moraes’ law office to a Banco Master contract valued at R$129 million ($24 million), with payments of R$3.6 million ($667,000) per month before the bank entered liquidation.

Other reporting cites investigations involving questioned portfolios around R$12 billion ($2.2 billion) to R$12.7 billion ($2.4 billion).

The takeaway is volatility. Washington can turn sanctions on and off faster than Brasília can settle legal fights.

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