Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto told a Lisbon court today at the opening of his trial that his “Football Leaks” football“, in which he denounces sports-related crimes) are “a reason for pride and not shame”.
“I was outraged by what I discovered and decided to make it public,” the 31-year-old said in a brief statement at the start of a trial that is expected to last several months.
“My job as a whistleblower is over,” he added, his face covered by a sanitary mask. “I’ve never done anything for money.”
The documents that Rui Pinto hacked and released to news organizations such as “Football Leaks”, organized from the end of 2015, brought to light revelations from the world of football.
Published by a media consortium, the European Investigative Collaborations, these revelations exposed tax evasion mechanisms, suspected fraud and corruption involving several European clubs, managers and stars such as the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldothe Frenchman Paul Pogba, the Argentinian Lionel Messi and the Englishman David Beckham.
Ninety charges against the hacker
Pinto faces 90 counts, including a series of computer crimes and, more seriously, attempted blackmail against Doyen Sports, an investment fund, which sparked the investigation by filing a complaint in October 2015. In Portugal, attempted extortion can be punished with up to 10 years in prison.
His lawyers insist he is “a very important European whistleblower” and plan to call 45 witnesses, including Edward Snowden, a former US intelligence officer accused of espionage, and former French financial judge Eva Joly.
After leaking the hacked documents in 2016, Pinto fled Portugal and took refuge in Hungary, where he spent four years before being tracked down and extradited to Portugal in March 2019.
Upon his return, he was placed in pre-trial detention for a year. He was granted the right to house arrest after cooperating with Portuguese prosecutors, giving them access to a large amount of unpublished encrypted documents.
(With information from AFP)
