Man City whistleblower to remain in witness protection

Portuguese computer hacker Rui Pinto, whose disclosures of confidential football files prompted the Premier League's investigation into Manchester City, will remain under witness protection following a reversal by Portuguese authorities.

The 37-year-old creator of the Football Leaks platform was originally slated to exit the state protection scheme on Saturday. Pinto had strongly objected to that plan, warning that terminating his security arrangements placed him in immediate danger.

The Ministry of Justice in Portugal confirmed the suspension of the exit order, stating that the agency overseeing the security programme had failed to properly inform Pinto of the justifications for dropping his protection or provide him a chance to contest the ruling. Under the latest decision, Pinto has been granted a 10-day window to review an official safety evaluation that concluded he faced minimal risk.

Responding to the development on social media, Pinto expressed gratitude to Portugal's Justice Minister, Rita Alarcao Judice, while arguing that the initial move to drop his protection breached the law and represented an abuse of authority.

Pinto entered the Portuguese witness protection scheme four years ago after agreeing to work alongside investigators and hand over material gathered through his Football Leaks activities. In 2018, he supplied internal records and correspondence to the German news publication Der Spiegel, which then published investigative reports focusing on Manchester City's financial affairs and compliance with fair play regulations.

The resulting scrutiny contributed to Premier League charges against Manchester City, who were recently determined to have breached financial rules across the seasons spanning from 2009-10 to 2017-18. The English club has lodged an appeal against that ruling.

While Pinto views his actions as public-interest whistleblowing, his activities have led to legal battles in his home country. He previously received a four-year suspended sentence after being convicted of attempted extortion and unlawful data access. Security surrounding his 2020 trial was tightly managed, requiring him to wear protective body armour. In a separate legal matter earlier this year, Pinto was cleared of more than 200 charges connected to the unauthorised accessing of email accounts linked to Portuguese sporting organisations, including Lisbon club Benfica.