Among the dozens of people called to testify by the lawyers of the creator of ‘Football Leaks’, at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, the former MEP and ex-presidential candidate is, perhaps, one of the most mediatic faces and the one who was most actively involved in the support to the main defendant in the process, not only for his revelations about the world of football, but also for having been the source of the information that later led to the ‘Luanda Leaks’ case.
In addition to many public interventions in defense of Rui Pinto, Ana Gomes came to visit him in prison in April 2019, where he even handed him the European prize for whistleblowers. Among the praise for the youngster’s computer skills and her commitment to denouncing hypothetical cases of corruption, the former MEP was always very critical of the Portuguese authorities for not seeking collaboration with Rui Pinto sooner.
However, last year a collaboration between the creator of the electronic platform and the PJ was assumed, something that has already occurred under the leadership of Luís Neves as the institution’s national director. The head of the Judiciary admitted in May 2020 that Rui Pinto changed his behavior and that he helped to decrypt the seized hard drives.
The issue of collaboration with the authorities will therefore be one of the greatest curiosities in relation to Luís Neves’ testimony. After opening the possibility to a scenario of awarding plea, the director of the PJ came to criticize the Portuguese criminal procedural system, insofar as this “may lead to the only person who collaborates with justice to be the only one who is condemned ”, and regretted“ the existing cynicism and hypocrisy ”.
The session starts at 9:30 am at the Campus da Justiça, in Lisbon, with the testimonies of Ana Gomes and Luís Neves scheduled for the morning. In the afternoon, hearings are scheduled for the Swiss lawyer Philippe Renz, who made a complaint to the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) about situations of double representation of football entrepreneurs, and the whistleblower Antoine Deltour, who was the originator of the ‘Luxembourg Leaks’ case.
Rui Pinto, 32, is responsible for a total of 90 crimes: 68 of undue access, 14 of violation of correspondence, six of illegitimate access, targeting entities such as Sporting, Doyen, the PLMJ law firm, the Portuguese Federation of Football (FPF) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), and also for computer sabotage to Sporting’s SAD and for extortion, in the attempted form. This last crime concerns Doyen and was also what led to the pronunciation of the lawyer Aníbal Pinto.
The creator of Football Leaks has been free since August 7, “due to his collaboration” with the Judiciary Police (PJ) and his “critical sense”, but is, for security reasons, inserted in the protection program of witnesses in an undisclosed location and under police protection.
