LISBON — Football Leaks founder Rui Pinto will remain in witness protection after Portugal's Ministry of Justice suspended a decision to remove him from the program, reversing a ruling the 37-year-old Portuguese hacker said had put him in a "life-threatening situation." Pinto had been scheduled to leave the protection program on Saturday.
Pinto disclosed a tranche of confidential football documents, including emails and financial records relating to Manchester City, and in 2018 shared documents with German magazine Der Spiegel, which used them for investigations into the club's finances and alleged breaches of financial fair play rules. Manchester City was recently found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons and has appealed the decision.
Pinto entered Portugal's witness protection program in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and provide information obtained through the Football Leaks operation. In a statement Friday, the Ministry of Justice said the special security programmes commission had not adequately "notified" Pinto of grounds for its termination or given him the opportunity to challenge the decision. He will now be given 10 days to assess a risk assessment conducted by the commission that indicates a low threat to his safety. He posted on X thanking Minister of Justice Rita Alarcao Judice and said the commission's initial decision had clearly violated the law and amounted to a "manifest abuse of power."
Pinto has described himself as a whistleblower but was convicted in Portugal of offenses including illegal access to data and attempted extortion and was given a four-year suspended sentence. He wore a bulletproof vest during his first trial in 2020, which was subject to heightened security measures. Earlier this year, he was acquitted of 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts belonging to a number of sports bodies in Portugal, including Benfica. The case follows Man City fans showed defiance after the guilty verdict on 115 charges as the club pursues its appeal.