The Whistleblower Face to Face With Death Threats
The serious risk of an assassination attempt against me
is what computer hacker Rui Pinto warned he faced after multiple death threats.
The founder of the Football Leaks website—whose cache catalyzed the Premier League’s investigation into Manchester City’s finances—announced he was preparing to leave Portugal. The move came after he was informed that his participation in the country’s witness protection program had been terminated, The Guardian reported.
A Sudden Security Cut Amid Landmark Manchester City Ruling
The sudden removal of his security detail occurred on September 30, 2026. The timing was stark. It happened just hours after an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of more than 100 charges regarding breaches of league financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
Pinto had obtained the private documents that exposed City’s operations, sparking widespread judicial, tax, and sporting probes across Europe. In response to the initial cancellation of his protection, the 37-year-old launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking €3 million (£2.55 million) to fund his relocation to an undisclosed location.
Legal Outcry Over Alleged State Terrorism
Pinto’s legal team forcefully condemned the initial decision to drop his protection, describing it as an act of state terrorism
that left their client more vulnerable than at any point since 2020.
Lawyers emphasized that the threats against him were tangible. They noted that Pinto was physically assaulted in Lisbon in April. They argued that the risk assessment failed to account for his ongoing cooperation with international investigators and the powerful individuals implicated by his disclosures.
Reversal, Gratitude, and Past Convictions
The status of his security shifted days later. Portuguese authorities confirmed that Pinto would remain under police protection while the Ministry of Justice reviewed the case, Al Jazeera reported. The ministry nullified the previous resolution because Pinto had not been duly informed of the reasons behind the termination and was denied an opportunity to challenge it.
Following the reversal of the termination order, Pinto used social media to thank the Portuguese Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcao Judice, for restoring legality. At the same time, he sharply criticized the members of the commission responsible for the initial withdrawal, accusing them of a clear violation of the law and a manifesto abuse of power.
Pinto has operated as both a defendant and a protected witness within the Portuguese justice system. Arrested in Hungary in January 2019, he spent over a year in pre-trial detention before agreeing to grant authorities access to millions of encrypted files. In September 2023, a Portuguese court handed him a suspended four-year sentence after convicting him on counts of attempted extortion, illegal access to data, and breach of correspondence.
Unresolved Dangers Across European Jurisdictions
The Ministry of Justice announced that Pinto’s witness protection measures will remain in effect pending a new, legally compliant decision regarding his risk assessment.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings connected to the millions of documents published on Football Leaks since late 2015 continue to unfold across multiple European jurisdictions. Pinto’s defense team maintains that authorities must factor in the sustained danger posed by his cooperation with financial and sporting regulators before any future changes to his security status are enacted.
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