The Portuguese hacker whose release of confidential files contributed to the Premier League inquiry into Manchester City will continue receiving witness protection after officials temporarily halted plans to remove him from the scheme.
Football Leaks creator Rui Pinto had been due to leave the security programme on Saturday, a move he previously warned would place his life at risk.
The 37-year-old released a large collection of private football material, including emails and financial documents connected to the Premier League club.
In 2018, Pinto supplied files to German publication Der Spiegel, which relied on them while examining City’s finances and suspected violations of financial fair play regulations.
City were recently found responsible for all alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules covering the 2009-10 to 2017-18 campaigns. The club has lodged an appeal against that ruling.
Pinto entered Portugal’s witness protection scheme in 2020 after agreeing to assist investigators and share information gathered through Football Leaks.
However, according to a statement issued on Friday,, external Portugal’s Ministry of Justice said the decision to end Pinto’s protection had been suspended. It explained that the special security programmes commission had not properly informed him of the reasons for terminating the arrangement or allowed him to contest the decision.
Pinto will now have 10 days to review an assessment by the special security programmes commission that categorises the danger to him as low.
He wrote on X, external to thank Portugal’s justice minister, Rita Alarcao Judice. He also claimed that the commission’s original ruling clearly broke the law and represented a “blatant misuse of authority”.
Although Pinto identifies himself as a whistleblower, a Portuguese court convicted him of crimes including unlawful access to data and attempted extortion, handing him a suspended four-year prison term.
During his first trial in 2020, which took place under increased security, he appeared in court wearing a bulletproof vest.
Earlier this year, Pinto was cleared of 241 charges involving the alleged unlawful entry into email accounts owned by several Portuguese sporting organisations, among them Benfica.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
