A Portuguese computer hacker who released documents that helped trigger an investigation into Manchester City’s Premier League will remain in evidence protection after authorities in the country suspended plans to end it.
Football Leaks founder Rui Pinto is scheduled to leave the security system on Saturday, ruling that he had previously said he was in a “life-threatening situation”.
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Pinto, 37, revealed a tranche of confidential football documents, including emails and financial statements belonging to the English Premier League side.
In 2018, he shared documents with the German newspaper Der Spiegel, which he used in investigations of the city’s finances and alleged breaches of the game’s financial system.
The city was recently convicted of all charges related to violations of basic federal financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. They appealed against the decision.
Pinto became part of Portugal’s test protection program in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and provide information obtained through the Leaks operation.
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However, on Friday, Portugal’s Ministry of Justice said that the decision to remove Pinto from witness protection was temporarily suspended, since the body responsible for it – the special security commission – had not sufficiently “notified” Pinto of the reason for his termination or had given him the opportunity to challenge the decision.
Pinto will now be given 10 days to evaluate the risk assessment carried out by a special security commission, which indicates a risk to his safety.
In 10 thanks to the Minister of Justice of Portugal, Judge Rita Alarcao and the commission’s initial decision, he clearly said that it violated the law and condemned “manifest abuse of power”.
Pinto described himself as a whistleblower, but after being convicted in Portugal of scandals involving illegal access to data and attempted extortion, he was given a four-year suspended sentence.
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He wore a bulletproof vest during the first trial in 2020, which also increased security measures.
Earlier this year, he was acquitted of 241 counts of illegal access to electronic accounts belonging to several sports bodies in Portugal, including Benfica.