Rui Pinto to remain in Portugal witness protection after removal decision suspended

Rui Pinto, the Portuguese computer hacker whose disclosure of documents helped trigger the Premier League investigation into Manchester City, will remain in Portugal's witness protection programme after authorities suspended a decision to remove him, the Ministry of Justice said on Friday.

Pinto, 37, had been due to leave the protection programme on Saturday and previously said that decision had put him in a "life-threatening situation". He disclosed a tranche of confidential football documents, including emails and financial records relating to Manchester City, and in 2018 shared materials with German magazine Der Spiegel which were used in investigations into the club's finances and alleged breaches of financial fair play rules. Manchester City were recently found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons; the club has appealed the decision. Pinto became part of Portugal's witness protection programme in 2020 after agreeing to co-operate with authorities and provide information obtained through the Football Leaks operation.

Portugal's Ministry of Justice said the reversal of the removal decision was effective "for the time being" and named the special security programmes commission as the body responsible for the original ruling. The ministry said the commission had not adequately "notified" Pinto of the grounds for its termination or given him the opportunity to challenge the decision. That procedural shortcoming was cited as the basis for suspending the commission's move to remove him from protection. The ministry's statement placed the immediate focus on correcting the notification and challenge process.

Under the suspended timeline, Pinto will now be given 10 days to assess a risk assessment conducted by the special security programmes commission that indicates a low threat to his safety. The 10-day period is intended to allow Pinto to review and respond to the commission's findings. The commission's assessment itself is described in the ministry statement as concluding there is a low level of risk to Pinto's personal security.

Pinto posted on X thanking Portugal's 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". He has described himself as a whistleblower but was convicted in Portugal of offences including illegal access to data and attempted extortion and given a four-year suspended sentence. During his first trial in 2020 he wore a bulletproof vest and the proceedings were 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 immediate procedural outcome is that Pinto will have 10 days to consider the commission's low-threat risk assessment while the decision to end his protection remains suspended; separately, Manchester City have lodged an appeal against the Premier League ruling.