Rui Pinto will continue to receive witness protection for now after Portuguese officials paused plans to remove it. The special security programmes commission (CPES) admitted that he should have been allowed to make his case before the original decision was reached. The Manchester City whistleblower may now formally contest the proposed termination of his protection, after which the commission is expected to review the issue again.
According to a statement endorsed by the Ministry of Justice, the CPES accepted that Pinto had not received sufficient information about why his protection was being withdrawn. It also acknowledged that he had not been given a proper opportunity to challenge the decision.
The security arrangements had been scheduled to expire on Saturday. The commission will now give Pinto access to risk assessment documents that reportedly concluded the danger to him was limited. The meeting concerning his case was held on 9 July. Pinto learned on 30 September that his protected-witness status would end, one day after an independent commission’s guilty ruling against City was confirmed and attracted widespread international attention.
Pinto will have 10 working days to examine the material used to support the decision and submit a response to its arguments and findings. Concern about losing protection had already led him to begin a fundraising effort aimed at securing his financial position. He has also raised concerns about his personal safety, citing credible death threats and an assault in Lisbon in April.
Pinto welcomed Portuguese justice minister Rita Alarcão Júdice’s move to reverse the CPES decision. In a social media statement, he argued that the commission’s original action plainly breached the law and represented a “manifest abuse of power”.
While Pinto believes the minister’s intervention has restored the proper legal process, he says he no longer trusts the commission’s members. In his view, their handling of the case has weakened the impartiality, legality and confidence required for an effective witness protection system.
Pinto has held protected-witness status since April 2020. Portugal’s judicial police (PJ) granted him protection after he agreed to provide investigators with access to millions of files obtained from football clubs, businesses connected to Angolan entrepreneur Isabel dos Santos and other organisations suspected of unlawful conduct. Dos Santos rejects the corruption claims made against her.
Information supplied by Pinto has contributed to inquiries conducted by judicial, tax and sporting bodies throughout Europe, including the Premier League investigation into City. His legal representatives maintain that officials must take account of both his assistance to the justice system and the potential dangers created by his disclosures before ending his protection.
Increasing public attention appears to have encouraged officials to reassess the situation. Pinto remains prepared to assist British authorities with investigations involving City and other issues connected to the information he revealed. He has also provided French investigators with millions of documents that may now be shared with authorities in other countries, including the UK.
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