Man City whistleblower to remain in witness protection

Football Leaks founder Rui Pinto, the Portuguese computer hacker who exposed documents leading to Manchester City's Premier League investigation, will continue to receive witness protection after authorities suspended the plan to end it. Pinto, 37, planned to exit the protection program on Saturday, a move he warned could endanger his life.

Pinto's disclosures of confidential football documents, including emails and financial records tied to City, led to the English Premier League club's guilty verdict on various charges of breaching financial fair play rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18. City's appeal against the decision is ongoing.

Pinto entered Portugal's witness protection program in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and share information from the Football Leaks operation. However, the Ministry of Justice abruptly reversed its decision on Friday, stating that the special security programmes commission had not adequately informed Pinto of the termination grounds or offered him a chance to contest it.

The special security programmes commission has since released a risk assessment indicating a low threat to Pinto's safety. The hacker thanked Portugal's Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcao Judice, and criticized the commission's initial decision as a "manifest abuse of power." Pinto, who was convicted of offences like illegal data access and attempted extortion, received a four-year suspended sentence and wore a bulletproof vest during his 2020 trial.

Earlier this year, he was acquitted of 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts belonging to various sports bodies in Portugal.