Portugal waited 83 days to inform Rui Pinto his witness protection would end

Portuguese authorities waited 83 days to notify Rui Pinto that his protected-witness status would be withdrawn, informing the Manchester City whistleblower on 30 September after a commission decision in July. He received 10 days’ notice before the protection was due to expire.

Pinto has been in Portugal’s witness protection programme since 2020 after agreeing to grant authorities access to millions of files gathered before his arrest. His disclosures have been used by judicial, tax and sporting authorities across Europe, including in the Premier League’s investigation into City’s alleged financial irregularities. Faced with only 10 days’ notice, Pinto must find somewhere safe to live, establish a means of supporting himself in a new location and avoid contact with family members.

The special security programmes commission (CPES), which oversees Portugal’s witness protection programme, met on 8 and 9 July to review Pinto’s case and concluded the threat level against him was low and that special protection measures were no longer warranted. Despite that July decision, Pinto was not informed until 30 September, a gap of 83 days between the commission’s meeting and the notification. The commission reached its conclusion nearly three months before Pinto was told his protection would end.

CPES was contacted on two occasions seeking details of the criteria and evidence used to determine that Pinto’s protection should be withdrawn and to explain the 83-day interval; none of the inquiries received a response. On the day Pinto was informed, 30 September, the Premier League’s guilty verdict against City, which had been confirmed 24 hours earlier, was dominating headlines around the world. Authorities have stood by the commission’s July decision despite protestations from Pinto and his lawyers that he fears for his life.

Pinto entered the protection programme after cooperating with Portugal’s justice authorities and has handed over millions of documents to investigators in France. Those documents can now be shared with other nations — including the UK — under international cooperation and bilateral ties. Pinto remains willing to cooperate with British authorities in the City case and in other investigations stemming from his findings.

Pinto’s lawyers argue the authorities should take into account his cooperation with the justice system and the continuing risks associated with his disclosures before ending his protection. Francisco Teixeira da Mota said an appeal against the decision would be filed this week. “The most shocking thing is the fact that he wasn’t heard before the decision was made,” he said. “It’s something that goes against the European court of human rights.” In a press release last week, Pinto’s defence team called the decision “an act of state terrorism”. Their outrage intensified after they learned their client had been kept in the dark for almost three months. “It says a lot,” Da Mota added.

Mounting pressure appears to have prompted a rethink. Last Saturday Portugal’s justice minister, Rita Alarcão Júdice, was questioned by journalists about the decision and said the authorities would review Pinto’s case, promising to respond by Saturday, the date on which his protection is due to end. “I have received various requests and we are examining them very carefully,” Júdice said. “If there has been any irregularity, or if any procedure was not handled as it should have been, that will, of course, be taken into consideration.”

An appeal against the withdrawal will be filed this week, and the justice minister has pledged a formal response by Saturday, the day Pinto’s protected-witness status is due to lapse.