The world of football braces itself for a potential onslaught of new scandals as Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto, the mastermind behind the “Football Leaks” revelations, has handed over his hard drives to French and European investigators, despite fearing for his life.
This vast trove of information could potentially unearth a new wave of discoveries that may shake European football to its core.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse and other French media outlets, Pinto stated, “I’m sure there are still many things that haven’t been investigated.”
Since the inception of the leaks in 2015, Pinto has exposed the salaries of some top stars like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar, as well as accusations against Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo of rape.
These allegations, along with revelations such as financial fair play circumvention at Manchester City and racial profiling at Paris Saint-Germain, have been met with denials.
Pinto has personally paid a price for these leaks, having been arrested in Hungary in January 2019.
He was sentenced to four years in prison, suspended, by a Portuguese court last year on charges of attempted extortion and unauthorized access to computer systems.
Last November, the French judiciary sentenced the Portuguese to six months in prison, also suspended, for leaks related to PSG executives.
Last week, Pinto was questioned by French anti-corruption investigators near Paris, in the presence of judges specializing in financial crimes.
The interrogation session pertains to a French investigation into the original “Football Leaks” leaks that began in late 2016, attended by investigators from Germany, Belgium, and other countries.
In an interview with AFP and other French media outlets at his French lawyer William Bourdon’s office, Pinto revealed his reasons for being in France, stating, “For the first time, I wanted to give French and foreign authorities full and unrestricted access to the data” he had collected until his arrest five years ago.
The available information to investigators is much greater than that provided to the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) network (a consortium formed by major media institutions such as Germany’s Der Spiegel, Spain’s El Mundo, and the French investigative online newspaper Mediapart, which have been responsible for publishing the leaks so far).
The French Financial Crimes Investigation Office confirmed that “work on exploiting (the data) can now begin,” praising Pinto’s “cooperation,” which will help “re-launch current procedures or lead to new investigations.”
Pinto’s hard drives contain information about some of Europe’s biggest football clubs, sports federations, and companies, he added: “I’m sure there are still many things that haven’t been investigated.”
He cited an “interesting example” regarding the French Interior Ministry, referring to documents that raised suspicions about financial irregularities in Neymar’s record-breaking €222 million transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Pinto is also behind “Luanda Leaks,” an investigation published in January 2020 that accuses businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, of amassing a vast fortune through fraud during her father’s 38-year reign.
Pinto emphasized that “what I’ve just handed over is much bigger than the initial data that was published.
It’s not just about Football Leaks and Luanda Leaks.”
At the questioning session in Paris, Pinto repeatedly referred to the “harassment” he faced from the Portuguese judiciary and stated that his life was “completely stuck.”
He lamented, “I’m not even allowed to apply for a job.”
As investigators in France and other European partners delve into the data, Pinto’s lawyer stated that his client fears becoming a victim of “eternal judicial persecution.”
