Rui Pinto gets police protection back after Portugal annuls witness status removal

Rui Pinto has his security detail back. The Portuguese government annulled on Friday the decision to strip the Football Leaks founder of his protected witness status, just one week after he announced he was moving to an undisclosed location because he feared for his life. The Ministry of Justice found procedural flaws in the case and confirmed that police protection remains active while a new decision is processed.

• The Special Security Programmes Commission declared null the removal of Rui Pinto's protection, originally decided on 22 September and notified on 30 September.
• The Ministry of Justice admitted Pinto was not properly notified and was denied the chance to appeal as required by Portuguese law.
• The hacker will have ten working days to respond after accessing the risk analysis report and relevant meeting minutes.
• Pinto announced on 2 October that he was going into hiding because he feared for his life after losing his police escort.
• Football Leaks exposed contracts and financial dealings at clubs including Manchester City, who face more than 100 charges of financial breaches.

Why Portugal reversed course on Rui Pinto

Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice met on Thursday with the Special Security Programmes Commission to review the situation of the man behind Football Leaks. The government determined that Pinto was not properly notified of the decision to remove him from the programme, and that he was denied both the information and the chance to appeal guaranteed under Portuguese law. That procedural failure was enough to invalidate the entire process.

The commission declared null the initial decision made on 22 September, as well as the subsequent process and the notification issued on 30 September. Pinto will now be notified again and will have access to the risk analysis report and relevant sections of the meeting minutes. He has ten working days to respond before any new ruling is made.

Pinto's announcement: a hideout born of fear

On 2 October, Rui Pinto wrote on his X account that he was relocating to an unknown place. The commission responsible for Portugal's witness protection programme had told him he was no longer part of the system and that his police protection had been withdrawn. Pinto said at the time that his safety was at serious risk and that he feared for his life.

The protection programme currently in force remains active until a new decision is adopted by the Special Security Programmes Commission.

What Football Leaks exposed and which clubs were named

Football Leaks was a massive leak of confidential documents that began in 2015. The files revealed contracts, transfers and financial operations involving clubs, players and agents across Europe, and sparked investigations in several countries. The material hit some of the continent's biggest institutions, with Manchester City among the most prominent names: the English club was charged with more than 100 counts of alleged financial breaches. Paris Saint-Germain also came under scrutiny.

Pinto's convictions in Portugal and France

Pinto paid a legal price for his role in the affair. In 2023 he received a four-year suspended prison sentence in Portugal for crimes including illegal access to emails and computer systems, along with an extortion attempt. That same year, a French court handed him a six-month suspended sentence for unlawfully accessing PSG's email accounts. In 2026 he was acquitted in another Football Leaks-related case in which he had faced 241 charges.

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