Whistleblower Rui Pinto Collaborating with European Authorities in Paris

Rui Pinto is in Paris collaborating with European authorities, according to information gathered by PÚBLICO. The author of Football Leaks is being heard as a witness by French, German, Belgian and Dutch magistrates and investigators, confirming the whistleblower’s active cooperation with the European authorities.

The whistleblower is being interviewed by the joint team responsible for an ongoing European investigation, present at the premises of the French Public Prosecutor’s Office, Parquet National Financier. Before being arrested in Budapest, in January 2019, Rui Pinto had already collaborated with this authority, particularly in investigations relating to financial crimes. Although it was not possible to determine what this investigation was about, it is almost certain that it focuses on facts exposed by Rui Pinto in the Football Leaks or us Luanda Leaks, two waves of revelations that came from the whistleblower.

Rui Pinto also participated in the Malta Files, on the use of Malta as a privileged jurisdiction for the interposition of shell companies and tax optimization. In this case, the Portuguese tax authorities recovered 20 million euros.

Not case Football Leaks, which led to the arrest and subsequent sentencing of Rui Pinto in the first instance to a four-year suspended sentence, the Portuguese collected tens of millions of documents relating to the biggest football clubs. In these files, tax evasion, non-compliance with the rules of the fair play financial and dubious legal practices relating to investment funds were exposed, leading to investigations in several countries.

Nos Luanda LeaksRui Pinto revealed the means that Isabel dos Santos used to build her fortune, exposing suspicions of corruption and money laundering.

The relationship with the French authorities

Rui Pinto has a long relationship with the French authorities. As we have already mentioned, the complainant collaborated with the Gauls even before being arrested. After being extradited to Portugal, the French did everything they could to ensure that their collaboration had not been in vain. Without the knowledge of the Judiciary Police, they accessed the hard drives seized from Rui Pinto in Budapest, copying the information that could, one day later, give access to millions of files with evidence of alleged crimes.

After a year in preventive detention, Rui Pinto signed a cooperation agreement with the Judiciary Police. He was released in exchange for access to the hard drives that Portuguese investigators tried to decrypt without success.

After learning of this development, the French authorities returned to action and sought to renew collaboration. It is now known that this wish was fulfilled, with Rui Pinto being used as a witness in a common investigation involving four European nations.

2024-02-01 12:30:16
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