Rui Pinto, founder of Football Leaks, will remain in witness protection after Portuguese authorities reversed a decision to end his protection. Pinto, 37, faced losing his protection on Saturday and had warned that death threats put his life at risk. Portugal's Ministry of Justice confirmed the overturning of the decision after it emerged Pinto had not been properly informed of the reasons or given a chance to challenge the ruling. The protection program remains in effect until a new decision is adopted by the Special Security Programs Commission.
Pinto's disclosures, shared with German magazine Der Spiegel, included confidential emails and financial records relating to Manchester City. City were recently found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. Pinto has been in Portugal's witness protection programme since 2020, when he agreed to cooperate with authorities and hand over information obtained through Football Leaks. His lawyers had challenged the decision to end his protection, pointing to threats against his life and an assault in Lisbon in April. The decision has now been declared "null and void," although Pinto's protection could still be removed. He will be given 10 working days to respond to a risk assessment and the reasons for the proposed withdrawal before a new decision is made.
Pinto thanked Portugal's Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, on social media, but accused the commission responsible for his protection of acting unlawfully. Pinto describes himself as a whistleblower, although he was handed a four-year suspended prison sentence in 2023 for offences including illegally accessing data and attempted extortion. He was cleared of a further 241 charges earlier this year, relating to allegations that he hacked into email accounts belonging to Portuguese sports organisations, including Benfica.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing