Portugal ends witness protection for Football Leaks whistleblower Rui Pinto

Witness protection programme termination

Portuguese authorities notified Football Leaks creator Rui Pinto that his participation in the country's Special Security Programme will conclude on October 10. The 37-year-old whistleblower had lived under state protection since August 2020, following his release from pre-trial detention and agreement to collaborate with prosecutors. Under the programme, Pinto received a secure residence under police guard, false identification papers, free transport, and a subsistence allowance. According to an official order released by the Commission for Special Security Programmes, the decision followed evaluation meetings on June 8 and July 9, 2026. The commission justified the termination by citing an alleged lack of commitment by Pinto alongside a Public Security Police reassessment that concluded he faced a low level of risk. Pinto's defence lawyers stated that the measure was delivered on Wednesday without granting their client a prior formal hearing.

Security fears and emergency crowdfunding

Following the notification, Pinto announced plans to relocate to an undisclosed destination for an indefinite duration, stating that the state decision left him exposed to severe danger. The whistleblower pointed to an assault against him in Lisbon in April as evidence that physical threats against his life remain active. To finance private security and housing after losing state support, Pinto established a GoFundMe campaign targeting 3 million euros. Within minutes of launching the initiative, donors contributed more than 2,400 euros across over 100 donations. Pinto addressed the immediate threat to his life in a public statement released on social media.

Given these circumstances, I have no alternative but to relocate, within the next few days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me.

Whistleblowing history and European court rulings

Pinto launched Football Leaks in late 2015 under the pseudonym John, publishing millions of confidential records that exposed offshore tax evasion and hidden contracts. His disclosures expanded beyond sports to include investigations such as the Luanda Leaks, examining Angolan financial figures, and the Malta Files. After his arrest in Hungary in 2019 and subsequent extradition, Pinto shared tranches of encrypted data with judicial investigators across Europe. In September 2023, the Lisbon Central Criminal Court sentenced him to a four-year suspended prison term for unauthorized computer access and attempted extortion of a sports investment fund. A French court handed Pinto a six-month suspended sentence in November 2023 for hacking email systems at Paris Saint-Germain, though Portuguese judges acquitted him of all charges in a separate trial in April.

Manchester City verdict and legal appeals

The notification arrived days after an independent Premier League commission found Manchester City guilty on 114 of 115 financial charges. The English league ruled that the club utilized sham commercial agreements to misstate revenues and costs by more than 900 million pounds (1.19 billion dollars) between 2009 and 2018. Manchester City denied all charges and lodged an appeal on Friday. In Portugal, Pinto's legal counsel submitted an administrative appeal with suspensive effect against the termination and asked the Justice Ministry to disclose the police risk assessment. Civic association Frente Cívica, led by Paulo de Morais and João Paulo Batalha, also sent a formal letter to Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice urging an independent review of the decision.