Rui Pinto to stay under witness protection after Portugal U-turn

Rui Pinto will stay under witness protection after Portuguese authorities suspended a decision to end it.

The protection had been due to run out on Saturday. That date is now on hold. Portugal’s special security programmes commission, the CPES, said Pinto should have been allowed to make his case before any decision was taken, The Guardian reported on 9 October 2026.

In a statement signed by the Ministry of Justice, the commission recognised Pinto had not been properly told why the programme was being stopped. It also said he had not been given the chance to challenge the decision. He can now do both, and the commission is expected to look at the matter again.

The timeline explains why the U-turn matters. The CPES meeting behind the decision took place on 9 July. Pinto was only informed on 30 September that his protected-witness status was coming to an end. He now has 10 working days to read the documents behind the decision and reply to its reasoning.

He will also finally see the risk assessments at the centre of the case. The commission says those reports pointed to a low threat to his safety. Pinto disputes that view.

He has spoken of credible death threats. He was also assaulted in Lisbon in April. He feared for his life. After the prospect of losing protection became public, he launched a fundraising campaign to help secure his financial future.

To understand the stakes, you need to know who Pinto is. He is the man behind Football Leaks, a huge cache of around 70 million documents that exposed the inner dealings of top European clubs. Portugal’s judicial police placed him under protection in April 2020, after he agreed to give investigators access to millions of files.

Those files still carry weight. Pinto handed millions of documents to investigators in France, material that can now be shared with other countries including the UK. He remains willing to cooperate with British authorities investigating Manchester City and other matters arising from his disclosures.

For fans, this means the story behind some of football’s biggest financial investigations is not finished. Pinto’s leaks helped trigger inquiries across Europe. His safety and his ability to keep giving evidence remain part of that wider picture.

Earlier reporting had said Pinto was set to lose protection just days after Manchester City’s guilty verdict, Reuters reported on 2 October. Portuguese outlet Expresso reported authorities took 83 days to notify him after the summer decision.

For now, none of that will take effect. Pinto stays protected while he reads the files and answers back.