Rui Pinto, the Portuguese whistleblower whose leaks helped to trigger the Premier League’s investigation into Manchester City’s financial affairs, is prepared to help authorities in the UK with their legal case in exchange for protection from threats, it is understood.
That willingness to cooperate comes despite the crowdfunding campaign launched on Friday to fund a new life after he leaves the protection of the Portuguese police. His priority, it is understood, remains to cooperate provided adequate security arrangements are in place.
Pinto is facing the loss of witness safeguarding in Portugal. If it is confirmed that he will no longer be a protected witness there, he will be free to cooperate with authorities in other countries from 10 October. He has already cooperated sporadically with French, German and Belgian authorities, and the UK could now be added to that list, should it wish to do so.
What he could offer extends well beyond the City case. He holds documents that may have been overlooked during the Premier League’s investigation, and with detailed knowledge of the documents, individuals and companies involved in the case, he is willing to continue as a protected witness in another country.
The scope is broader still. The hundreds of millions of files Pinto gathered as part of Football Leaks and Luanda Leaks are not solely in the possession of the Portuguese authorities. Between his arrest in Hungary and his extradition to Portugal, French authorities travelled to the Hungarian capital and copied the contents of all the electronic devices in his possession. Those documents can now be shared between countries as part of international cooperation between nations with bilateral ties, including the UK.
The investigation Pinto’s leaks set in motion culminated in City being found guilty of more than 100 charges by an independent commission that unearthed “sham” contracts designed to boost income artificially by £900m. City confirmed on Friday that the club will appeal against the tribunal’s verdict. Beyond the sporting ramifications of the case being conducted against City by the Premier League, British authorities could also decide to extend the inquiry, something that has already occurred in Portugal in relation to some of the documents disclosed by Pinto.
Pinto’s involvement with witness protection stretches back years. Just days before his arrest in Budapest in January 2019, the 37-year-old Portuguese national was negotiating entry into a witness protection programme in France, an initiative that was halted by the Portuguese authorities. He was later acquitted of 241 counts after a second trial in Portugal in April this year.
He is now waiting to find out what his future holds. His defence protested against the decision to end the protection, accusing Portugal of “state terrorism”. His lawyers said they had appealed against the decision and had sought to establish how the risk assessment had been carried out, but had received no response. Pinto says he wants to leave Portugal for a secret location. At the time of writing, more than €19,000 (£16,530) had been raised by the crowdfunding campaign.