Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Magalhães Laptops Scam and OOXML Scandals in Portugal Associated with Fraud?

That OOXML is a fraud is something we have already shown

OOXML is fraud



Earlier in the year we mentioned João Paulo Sá Couto, who seemed quite likely to be involved in a Microsoft scam. It was only a suspicion backed by circumstantial evidence at the time.



This also relates to the Microsoft OOXML fiasco in Portugal because he is an administrator and company owner (JP Sá Couto), as well as the one who injected his presence into the technical committee that served Microsoft. He voted in favour of OOXML without any participation in technical discussions (correction: it's Ricardo Mendonça who was sent on behalf of JP Sá Couto). Similarly, in France it was Nicolas Sarkozy batting for Microsoft with zero understanding of the technical details.

“In the latest turn of events, a judge assigned to this case has actually confirmed the accusations.”It turns out now that this man, who promoted Microsoft's agenda, was recently made a suspect (although not yet accused of being a suspect) on the basis of fraud and for not paying his taxes as he should have.

In the latest turn of events, a judge assigned to this case has actually confirmed the accusations. This means that among those who participated in Microsoft's OOXML scandals is also is suspect of crime and financial fraud. This does not bode too well for Microsoft, which has always been nothing by trouble in Portugal.

A reader brought to our attention this article from the Portuguese press. Not so long ago we wrote about those low-cost Intel Classmate laptops that would arrive at Portugal. João Paulo Sá Couto (and company) are behind this, branding these laptops in Portugal as "Magalhães". To those who do not read Portuguese, we have a rough translation of relevant bits of this article.

Title: Producers of Magalhães in sight of Justice

Subtitle: Fraud

The company that produces the Magalhães computer is "arguida" in a process of fraud of VAT evasion which might have cost the sate, in total, more than five millions of Euros.

Beyond JP Sá Couto, one of its administrators is also considered an "arguido": João Paulo Sá Couto. The administrator and the company are accused of the practice of criminal association and fiscal fraud, along with the other 39 "arguidos".

The accusation is confirmed by the instruction judge dispatching the pronouncement since the "arguidos" weren't able to produce evidence that dismantle the District Attorney's facts of accusation, during the trial phase which would still prevent going to trial.

The company responsible for the mini-laptio Magalhães and its administrator also constitute part of a list of 41 "arguidos" accused of associating themselves to practice a mega-evasion of VAT in the field of informatics. A scheme commonly known as the "merry-go-round fraud" which consists on successive transmissions of the same assets, in circle, among several operators sited in, at least, two European Union states and which is characterized by not delivering the due VAT per, at least, one operator in its own country.

The facts occurred between 1998 and 2001. As can be read in the accusation, it was by the initiative of João Paulo Sá Couto that the company which produces the Magalhães computer assumed the position of final link in the "merry-go-round circuit", having a gain of 4% over the assets which were factored. The buying and selling conditions would be established by the organization. JP Sá Couto would limit itself to receiving and forwarding the assets.


Given what we have witnessed from Intel and Microsoft, for a company like this to be associated with the Microsoft and Intel is not entirely surprising. Microsoft and Intel have both shown a lot of criminal activity, along with some convictions to confirm this.

“The interesting thing is that this company has had some other 'wins' associated with Microsoft.”Further in the article, it states that the company denies the allegations, but if they couldn't provide evidence countering the evidence, this seems futile. However, there is no prosecution yet.

All in all, they are no longer just potential suspects, they could not provide evidence that would bail them out, and they will now go to trial for fraud allegations.

The interesting thing is that this company has had some other 'wins' associated with Microsoft. It happened in the recent past.

There is also an association with with ISCTE, which can found be in a Microsoft press release. They too had a well-known member in the technical committee, allegedly representing just himself, but who is also owner of a company partner to Primavera, another 'puppet' of Microsoft.

This is getting very interesting. We encourage our Portuguese readers to help us study this further.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
 
Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore