Rui Pinto’s protection set to end after Portuguese police assess low risk

Rui Pinto’s participation in Portugal’s witness protection programme is due to end on 10 October after a special security committee cited a low police assessment of his risk and an alleged failure to meet programme commitments. The decision, made public on Friday, 2 October, affects the Football Leaks founder whose documents helped prompt investigations into Manchester City’s finances. His lawyers say they will challenge it.

The newly published reasons add to an earlier report on Portugal’s decision to end Pinto’s protection. That report established the planned closure; the committee’s stated grounds and the lawyers’ proposed challenge now clarify why the decision was made and what may happen before 10 October.

Why Portugal says Rui Pinto’s protection should end

A committee decision reproduced by Portuguese news agency Lusa says the Commission for Special Security Programmes agreed to close Pinto’s programme after meetings on 8 June and 9 July. It set 10 October as the effective date. The decision cited what it described as Pinto’s lack of commitment to complying with the programme, alongside a reassessment by Portugal’s Public Security Police that placed his risk at a low level.

Those are the committee’s stated grounds, rather than findings about whether Pinto has received threats. The text reproduced by Lusa does not address his lawyers’ allegation that he should have been heard before the decision. The original committee document was not independently available in the cited reporting, so the account of its wording rests on Lusa’s reproduction.

What Rui Pinto’s lawyers are seeking

The lawyers also say they will lodge an administrative appeal with suspensive effect. The Guardian reported that such a challenge would suspend the decision while it is contested. The cited reports do not establish that the appeal has been filed or that the scheduled closure has already been suspended. Whether Pinto remains in the programme after 10 October therefore depends on steps whose outcome has not been reported.

According to the lawyers, ending the programme would mean Pinto loses his protected, confidential residence and must find another place to live urgently. They say it remains unclear whether separate police protection would continue. Their statement alleges that Pinto was assaulted in Lisbon in April and faces continuing threats. Those safety claims are the lawyers’ account; the committee decision as reproduced by Lusa cites a low police risk assessment.

The lawyers argue that Pinto was not given a chance to be heard before the decision and that the way it was taken failed to respect the rule of law. The Guardian said on 1 October that it had sought clarification from the Portuguese commission and received no response. BBC Sport said it had also approached a Portuguese victims’ protection commission for comment. The cited reports contain no official reply to the lawyers’ procedural or safety allegations.

How Football Leaks led to Pinto’s protected status

Pinto entered the Portuguese protection programme in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities, according to the Guardian. The newspaper reported that he gave investigators access to millions of files obtained before his arrest. His lawyers say that cooperation was the reason he received protection and should be considered before it is withdrawn.

BBC Sport reports that Pinto shared Football Leaks documents with German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018. Its investigations examined Manchester City’s finances and alleged breaches of financial fair play rules. Pinto’s role in disclosing the material explains why the protection decision has drawn attention beyond Portugal, but it does not itself resolve the committee’s current assessment of his risk.

Pinto’s record also includes a Portuguese conviction for attempted extortion, illegal access to data and breach of correspondence. The Guardian reports that he received a four-year suspended sentence in September 2023. It also reports that he was acquitted in April 2026 in a separate trial involving 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts. Those outcomes concern different proceedings and neither determines whether his protection should continue.

Manchester City case remains under appeal

The protection dispute comes days after an independent Premier League commission found Manchester City guilty of serious financial-rule breaches covering the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons. The league said the commission found arrangements that artificially raised revenue and reduced costs by more than £900 million during the affected period, as well as most of the alleged failures to cooperate with its investigation. Those are commission findings, and the sporting consequences have yet to be settled.

The Guardian reported on 2 October that City had lodged an appeal on 1 October. The club maintains its innocence and says the commission’s decision is unsafe. Pinto’s lawyers point to the continuing City proceedings when arguing that risks linked to his disclosures remain. That argument is theirs; the Portuguese committee’s stated assessment of his personal risk is different.