Rui Pinto’s fears have come true. In Hungary arrested hackers of Football Leaks, under the cover name “John” is known, has been delivered in his home country of Portugal, and on Thursday evening in Lisbon, landed. Pinto and his lawyer had tried to prevent the extradition because of the Whistleblower fears in Portugal for his life.
“I’m pretty sure that I will not get a fair trial in Portugal,” said Pinto in February in an Interview with the ARD and the “mirror”. “Of course, there are prosecutors and judges who take their Job seriously. But this football mafia is everywhere. You want to send the message that nobody should mess with you.“
Pinto had received in the past few years due to the revelations surrounding the Football Leaks again and again, death threats. Private detectives are said to have been put on him. In January, Pinto, had been taken in his apartment in Budapest. In Lisbon, he fears, according to its own statement, the vengeance of some of the Fans of the Lisbon club Benfica.
Pinto asked the media to millions of documents available
“I’m afraid that if I enter a Portuguese prison, especially one in Lisbon , I can’t get there, get out alive,” said Pinto of the ARD and the “mirror”. 2017 appeared in the Public internal emails from Benfica officials have confirmed that Portugal’s record champion by the payment of money games has been tampered with. The Mails were just about the TV channel of Benfica’s rivals FC Porto released.
a Total of Pinto, the “level found” for 2015, over 70 million documents, the news magazine evaluated together with other journalists in a Europe-wide Research network. This came, among others, numerous tax offences to the light of day and in a court of law. Among other Star Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Real Madrid striker was due to tax offences sentenced to a fine of 22 million euros and an additional prison sentence of two years probation.
he Is classified as a Hacker or Whistleblower?
In Lisbon, the Prosecutor General’s office Pinto cyber-crime and attempted extortion, accused of. He is accused of, data stolen, and to have the Agency Doyen Sports in 2015, with insider knowledge to blackmail. Pinto denies that, even if he admits to actually have a monetary claim to the Agency put. He had accepted the money but never and the not intended. Rather, he wanted to test how much the company was willing to pay him for his Silence.
The key question now is whether Pinto is classified as a Hacker or a Whistleblower. Pinto doesn’t sees himself as a Hacker. It was always about crimes, abuses and misconduct in the football industry to uncover. He had never enrich.
As a Whistleblower, he would in Europe by the European court of human rights to special protection. Which was Because of the Pinto of the millions of documents that revealed the 30-Year-old so far. But he says that he had not worked in Football Leaks alone.
Pinto is the Snowden-lawyer
Pinto represented know an experienced lawyer at his side. William Bourdon has already represented the former CIA employee Edward Snowden. For the French Bourdon, it is clear that his current client is a Whistleblower, and thus under special protection.
in addition, he is cooperating, according to its own information with the authorities in France and Belgium, are very interested in Pinto’s data. They hope to be able to with the Material even more cases of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion to follow.
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“Football Leaks” of Alleged Hacker in Hungary arrested
Also with the Police Department in Las Vegas Pinto to work together. The Americans are determined against Cristiano Ronaldo, because a woman accused him of rape, which denies Ronaldo. However, the data are on multiple hard drives, which were confiscated by the investigators. First, a determination must decide judge whether Pinto will remain in custody or, most recently, in Budapest, in a house-arrest convicts.
