Computer hacker Rui Pinto, the man behind the Football Leaks website which helped trigger the Premier League probe into Manchester City's finances, faces "dire consequences" after having his protected witness status removed, his lawyers said on Friday.
Pinto "was informed on Wednesday that the special security programme he has benefited from since August 2020 would end on October 10," his Portuguese lawyers Francisco and Luisa Teixeira da Mota said in a joint statement with his French representatives William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth.
"In a few days, without having been given a prior hearing as required by law, he would lose the secure, confidential housing assigned to him and be forced to find a new home urgently, with no guarantee that police protection would be maintained," they continued, describing the move as a "decision with dire consequences".
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"The threats against him are not merely theoretical; he was assaulted in Lisbon last April. His revelations implicated powerful figures with vast resources, and numerous resulting legal proceedings are still ongoing," they noted.
"Abruptly deprived of his protected housing and plunged into extreme precariousness, Rui Pinto is reportedly more vulnerable now than at any time since 2020," his lawyers added.
The 37-year-old Pinto has been a protected witness since 2020 after agreeing to grant Portuguese authorities access to millions of files gathered before his arrest.
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