Portuguese hacker gets four-year sentence in 'Football Leaks' trial
Rui Pinto
Rui Pinto (34), the Portuguese hacker whose shocking revelations on "Football Leaks" website shook European football, was convicted by a court in Lisbon on Monday (September 11) of nine crimes. He was handed a four-year suspended prison sentence.
The panel of three judges found Rui Pinto guilty of five counts of unauthorised entry into computer systems, one count of attempted extortion, and three counts of intercepting correspondence for accessing emails, as per reports in Portuguese media.
Pinto was convicted of hacking computers that belonged to Doyen sports investment fund, the Portuguese attorney general’s office and a Lisbon law firm.The judges said that it was not proven that Pinto hacked a website that belonged to the Portuguese soccer federation.
Pinto’s disclosures embarrassed star players, top clubs and influential agents between 2015-18 and helped drive official investigations across Europe.
The website made publicthe information about the transfer fees and salaries of football stars such as Neymar, Radmael Falcao and Gareth Bale. The website also accused clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain of flouting European soccer's spending rules.
During the trial, Pinto admitted he was behind the information that was published on the website which was set up in 2015. He, however, argued that he is a whistleblower and not a criminal.He added: “My work as a whistleblower is finished.”
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He said he acted in public interest and not for personal gain. The court found him guilty of extortion in his dealings with Doyen.
His lawyers argued that Pinto had helped authorities inside and outside Europe to tackle crime in the sport.
They said that Pinto was helping authorities in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Malta in their soccer investigations.
After he was arrested, Pinto was in pre-trial detention in Lisbon. This included seven months in isolation. He was released after he started to co-operate with the police and entering a witness protection program.
(With inputs from agencies)
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