Whistleblower Rui Pinto, initiator of the Football Leaks revelation campaign, has been convicted of cybercrime by a court in Portugal, but does not have to go back to prison.
The Portuguese was sentenced to four years in prison for eight offenses and attempted extortion to the detriment of the Doyen Sports investment fund, which was, however, suspended.
The now 34-year-old was arrested in his adopted home of Budapest in 2019 and extradited based on an international criminal warrant from the Portuguese authorities. He was accused of blackmailing the Doyen company, which made money from marketing players, with information about dubious or illegal transactions. Pinto denied the allegations, saying he only appeared to approach Doyen with relevant concerns and demands.
After more than a year in custody, Pinto was released in April 2020 pending the opening of proceedings. Before his arrest, he had asked the French authorities to be included in the witness protection program because he had exposed a large number of illegal activities in football with the Football Leaks revelations and wanted to cooperate with prosecutors.
The Football Leaks platform caused a stir starting in 2015. Among the revelations, based on a trove of original documents, were reports of top star Cristiano Ronaldo’s tax abuses during his time in Spain with Real Madrid and of top teams Paris St. Germain and Manchester City’s far-reaching attempts to enforce financial fair play ( FFP) of the European Football Union (UEFA).
Pinto kept the source of the data to himself. But he emphasized that he was not the only one behind the revelations. “I’m not a hacker,” said Pinto: “In the end, it’s about whistleblowers disclosing events that would otherwise remain hidden from society: crimes, grievances, misconduct.”