Football Leaks hacker behind Manchester City case to stay in witness protection

Rui Pinto, the Portuguese computer hacker whose leaks sparked the Premier League investigation into Manchester City, will stay inside Portugal's witness protection programme for the time being. The Ministry of Justice announced on Friday that his removal, scheduled for Saturday, has been suspended after the body managing the scheme failed to properly inform him of the grounds for ending it.

• Portugal's special security programmes commission did not adequately notify Pinto of the reasons behind the termination of his protection.
• The Football Leaks founder had described his looming removal as a life-threatening situation.
• Pinto now has ten days to examine a risk assessment that rates the threat to his safety as low.
• He was convicted in Portugal of illegal data access and attempted extortion, receiving a four-year suspended sentence.

Why Rui Pinto will stay in the witness protection programme

The decision to withdraw protection was reversed because the special security programmes commission did not adequately notify Pinto of its reasoning nor give him the chance to contest it. Portugal's Ministry of Justice confirmed the suspension and said Pinto will have ten days to review a threat assessment that currently indicates a low level of danger.

Pinto, 37, entered the programme in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and share information obtained through Football Leaks. On X he thanked Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice and argued that the original decision had clearly broken the law and amounted to a manifest abuse of power.

How Football Leaks helped expose Manchester City's finances

In 2018, Pinto handed confidential emails and financial records relating to the English champions to German magazine Der Spiegel. The outlet used them to investigate City's accounts and alleged breaches of financial fair play rules, laying the groundwork for the Premier League's own inquiry.

Last month, City were found guilty of all charges concerning breaches of the league's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. The club has lodged an appeal, leaving open the possibility of unprecedented sanctions ranging from fines and points deductions to the stripping of titles won during that period.

Rui Pinto's criminal record and trials in Portugal

Pinto describes himself as a whistleblower, but Portuguese courts convicted him of offences including illegal access to data and attempted extortion, handing him a four-year suspended prison sentence. He wore a bulletproof vest during his first trial in 2020, which was held under 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. That verdict softened the criminal case against him but did not overturn the core conviction that led to his entry into witness protection.

What witness protection means for the Football Leaks case

Portugal's witness protection programme is designed for people whose cooperation with the justice system exposes them to a credible threat to their lives or physical safety. Pinto's status is reviewed periodically based on threat reports and the extent of his continued collaboration with investigators.

The suspension does not guarantee an indefinite extension: Pinto must submit arguments within ten days, after which the commission will decide whether to uphold the protection or remove it permanently.

Manchester City and the unresolved Premier League financial case

The ruling against City for financial breaches between 2009 and 2018 comes amid a period of dominance that has brought eight Premier League titles in thirteen seasons. The club's appeal leaves both the potential sporting penalties and the legitimacy of a case built in part on Pinto's leaked documents hanging in the balance.

The affair has reignited the debate over financial regulation in English football and the credibility of a state-backed ownership model that regulators claim inflated commercial income for almost a decade.