The scandal surrounding Manchester City is rocking English football. In Portugal, the man whose actions set the whole affair in motion was due to lose his police protection. That will not happen after all.
Rui Pinto, the man behind the investigative platform “Football Leaks”, which played a major role in exposing the financial scandal at Manchester City, had recently publicly expressed concern for his personal safety. The reason: the police protection granted to him was due to expire. Rui Pinto claimed that the Ministry of Justice was thereby “knowingly putting him in a life-threatening situation” and he also pointed out that he had received “numerous death threats” and saw a “serious risk of an assassination attempt” on his life.
In 2023, Pinto had been given a four-year suspended sentence for unauthorised access to IT systems, breach of communications confidentiality and attempted blackmail. Shortly afterwards, a Paris court also found him guilty and sentenced him to six months’ suspended imprisonment. He had been accused of gaining access to the email accounts of three Paris Saint-Germain officials.
Revelations were then published via the “Football Leaks” platform, causing a stir in the world of football since 2015. There were reports of tax offences committed by top stars and top clubs in the industry. Original documents were also posted online. The data consisted of confidential documents from the international football industry and the offshore banking sector. Much of the published information led to legal consequences.
“Football Leaks” also triggered the current investigations into Manchester City with its revelations. The ten-time English champions were found guilty on all 115 charges by an independent commission for breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations.
Procedural errors help Rui Pinto
The hacker Rui Pinto was arrested in 2019 and admitted to the witness protection programme over a year later; according to his lawyers, he had “stepped on the toes of powerful figures with extensive financial resources”. However, it is also true that Rui Pinto was both a defendant and a protected witness. In September 2023, he had received a four-year suspended sentence for a series of cybercrime offences and for attempting to blackmail a sports investment fund; in April, he was then acquitted on all charges in a second trial.
Throughout this period, he was under a special protection programme, which provided him with documents bearing a false identity, free transport and a maintenance allowance. The Portuguese Ministry of Justice intended for this to come to an end. The plan was to terminate the security measures on 10 October. However, this will not now go ahead, as procedural errors were identified.
The relevant commission declared the decision to end witness protection for the 37-year-old “null and void” because he “was not duly informed of the reasons for this decision” and had no opportunity to challenge it. This was confirmed by the Portuguese Ministry of Justice. The protection measure therefore remains in force for the time being.