Sports

Rui Pinto in Talks with UK Authorities to Aid Crime Investigations

By Alexander Hoad

Football whistleblower Rui Pinto, who exposed Manchester City’s financial misconduct, is reportedly in discussions with UK authorities to assist in uncovering financial and sporting crime in exchange for police protection, according to British media. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has contacted Pinto’s lawyers after he said he would help investigations if protection were provided. The SFO declined to confirm or deny the talks, citing standard practice to avoid prejudice to law‑enforcement activity. Pinto appeared to confirm the reports by reposting an article on his social media. The 38‑year‑old founder of Football Leaks released private documents that showed City broke league rules from 2009 to 2018, leading to a Premier League probe. City were found guilty of all but one of 115 charges related to breaches of financial rules. Pinto’s lawyer, William Bourdon, who has represented Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, said the process is underway. Pinto has feared for his life after the Portuguese witness‑protection programme was set to end on October 10, prompting him to launch a GoFundMe campaign to secure an anonymous new life. The Portuguese Ministry of Justice said it would extend his protection pending a new hearing after his lawyers challenged the decision. Pinto has offered cooperation to UK authorities in ongoing investigations in exchange for security measures. He was given a four‑year suspended sentence in September 2023 for illegally obtaining documents, other cybercrimes and attempted extortion, and was later acquitted on 241 counts in a second trial in April 2026. He has been a protected witness since August 2020 after agreeing to give Portuguese authorities access to millions of files gathered before his arrest. His first trial in Portugal began a month later.}