Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of Brazil’s Supreme Court, said Tuesday (Dec. 23) that the meetings he had with the president of the country’s Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, were held solely to discuss the Magnitsky Act – which the US government applied against the justice.

Moraes’ statement was released one day after the newspaper O Globo published a report stating he had defended the approval of the purchase of Banco Master by Banco Regional de Brasília (BRB), a public financial institution linked to Brazil’s Federal District government, during talks with Galípolo.

Notícias relacionadas:

• US scraps Justice Alexandre de Moraes and wife from Magnitsky Act list.

The meetings allegedly took place before the Central Bank’s decision last month to liquidate Banco Master due to suspected fraud. The investigation also led to the preventive detention of banker Daniel Vorcaro, one of the bank’s partners. Days later, Vorcaro was granted habeas corpus by federal court authorities and is now facing charges at liberty.

Before the liquidation ordered by the Central Bank, the Barci de Moraes law firm, which belongs to the Justice Moraes’s family, had provided services to Banco Master.

In a press release, Alexandre de Moraes stated that, in addition to Galípolo, he also met with representatives from banks Itaú, Bradesco, BTG, and Banco do Brasil, in addition to bank associations Febraban and the National Confederation of Financial Institutions to discuss the consequences of the Magnitsky Act.

“At all meetings, specific issues related to the serious consequences of the application of the aforementioned law were discussed – in particular the possibility of maintaining bank transactions, current accounts, credit cards, and debit cards,” it said in a statement.

The Central Bank has confirmed that the meetings addressed the effects of the law.

On December 12, the US government announced the withdrawal of economic sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, which had been imposed by the US government against Moraes, his wife, lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and Lex (Institute for Legal Studies), a company linked to the justice’s family.

The sanctions were imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump, a supporter of former Brazilian President Bolsonaro, in retaliation against Moraes, who is rapporteur for the cases brought against Bolsonaro.