Elon Musk's X has paid multi-million-dollar fines to Brazil to settle a long-running legal battle with Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who had ordered the shutdown of the platform's operations in the country, citing misinformation. 

However, following the settlement of the payment, Moraes revealed that the money was transferred to the wrong account and ordered the immediate redirection of the $5.2 million in funds into the correct one. 

The billionaire had been battling with Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes since April after the latter ordered X to take down over 100 far-right accounts loyal to former President Jair Bolsonaro.

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Last month, Musk closed X's offices in Brazil after refusing to appoint a legal representative to allow the platform to continue its operations. Moraes responded by ordering the country's mobile and internet service providers to block access to X and imposing fines on the company for its willful conduct in supporting disinformation.

Musk had refused to comply with legal orders to remove posts and accounts in Brazil and Australia, claiming to be an advocate for free speech, despite being less vocal about removing content from countries such as Turkey and India.

However, in September, he ended his months-long fight with the Brazilian Supreme Court, abiding by court orders to resume operations of his social media platform X in the country.

The tech entrepreneur complied with the Supreme Court's main demands by appointing a legal representative in Brazil, paying outstanding fines, and removing users from the platform deemed a threat to the country's democracy. 

Read more: Supreme Court threatens to shut down X in Brazil within 24 hours