Billionaire businessman Abdul Fares has secured an urgent court injunction in Sao Paulo to protect actress Marina Ruy Barbosa from defamatory social media claims over her 6 million reais diamond engagement ring.
The ruling, issued by the 16th Civil Court of the Capital within the Court of Justice of the State of Sao Paulo, orders major social media and video platforms to remove publications created by Fares's cousin within a strict, non-extendable 24-hour deadline.
The swift judicial intervention comes after the cousin posted videos online making accusations of theft, fraud, and money laundering against the Brazilian television star, while demanding that she return the valuable family heirloom.
The escalating dispute has unfolded amid widespread social media speculation that the 31-year-old actress and the 42-year-old retail heir have called off their engagement, although neither has publicly addressed the status of their relationship.
Court Injunction Against Defamatory Posts
The legal action was initiated by Fares after his cousin began publishing a series of hostile videos targeting Barbosa across multiple digital platforms. The posts quickly generated widespread attention and debate across Brazilian entertainment circles.
In granting the civil injunction, Judge Paulo Bernardi Baccarat determined in a preliminary evaluation that the material shared online had crossed the constitutional boundaries governing freedom of expression in Brazil.
The court specifically ordered that the major hosting platforms take down any content considered defamatory and offensive toward prominent public figures within 24 hours of notification.
Judge Baccarat also placed a strict prohibition on the author of the videos, barring him from repeating or circulating the accusations through any medium whatsoever.
To enforce compliance, the court established a recurring financial penalty of 1,000 Brazilian reais per post for each day of violation, with the cumulative fine per publication capped at the total monetary value assigned to the lawsuit for each piece of content.
Dispute Over Six Million Reais Heirloom
The public controversy centers directly on Barbosa's engagement ring, a diamond-encrusted piece estimated to be worth 6 million Brazilian reais. The piece represents a substantial luxury asset within Brazil's celebrity scene.
Conflict erupted when Fares's cousin released a video demanding that Barbosa return the ring immediately or deposit its full financial value with the judicial authorities, arguing that the couple had already separated.
In the video, the relative highlighted that the diamond-studded ring, crafted in a distinctive navette cut, is a treasured family heirloom that must not remain with the actress following the alleged split.
The navette cut, widely known in fine jewellery as the marquise cut, features an elongated silhouette with pointed ends designed to maximize the gemstone's surface area and brilliance, a style frequently favored for custom heirloom pieces.
Rather than confining his demands to civil property requests, the cousin escalated the situation by circulating defamatory accusations on social networks, alleging that Barbosa was involved in theft, fraud, and money laundering.
Family Defence From Fiance's Mother
As accusations multiplied across the internet, Fares's mother, businesswoman Hasna Fares, stepped forward publicly earlier in the month to offer an emphatic defence of her prospective daughter-in-law.
Hasna declared that the family loved Marina like a daughter and expressed deep sorrow over the controversy, adding that she was praying continuously for the difficult situation to pass.
The businesswoman revealed that Barbosa had in fact already offered multiple times to return the high-value ring to avoid becoming the center of speculation.
However, Hasna explained that the family would never accept the return of the piece. She stated that the ring had been given purely out of love by her son, purchased with earnings he had built up through many years of hard work.
Concluding her supportive statement, Hasna assured the actress that she would always stand by her side and prayed that God would continue to bless and protect her.
Unfollowed Profile Fuels Breakup Speculation
Speculation surrounding the couple's relationship first intensified earlier in the month when eagle-eyed social media users noticed that Barbosa was no longer following Fares on Instagram.
In digital celebrity culture, an unfollow on Instagram is routinely interpreted by fans and entertainment media as confirmation of a private romantic split.
When contacted by CNN Brasil regarding the observation, Barbosa's press office clarified that the actress had never followed Fares on the platform because his personal profile is completely inactive.
However, when reporters pressed the press representatives directly on whether Barbosa and Fares had ended their engagement, the team offered no response.
To date, neither Barbosa nor Fares has issued any public statement confirming or denying whether their relationship remains intact.
High-Profile Romance In The Spotlight
The couple was first photographed together in public in July 2023 in Sao Paulo, having met through mutual friends and shared social connections within the city's business and cultural elite.
At the time their romance emerged, Barbosa was starring on national television as the antagonist Preciosa Montebello in the TV Globo telenovela Fuzue, having recently concluded a relationship with former federal deputy Guilherme Mussi.
Barbosa has spent decades in the public eye, beginning her career as a child actor before emerging as one of Brazil's leading television stars and influential fashion entrepreneurs, followed by millions across the globe.
In October 2023, during an international trip to Dubai, Fares proposed to Barbosa with the diamond-studded ring, marking the start of their engagement.
Fares represents one of Brazil's most prominent commercial dynasties as an heir to the founding family of Marabraz, a major nationwide retail chain that operates furniture stores across the country.
Throughout their romance, both Barbosa and Fares chose to maintain a deliberately discreet public posture, with the billionaire businessman keeping his personal Instagram account private as legal proceedings now move forward in Sao Paulo.
