Man City whistleblower Pinto to lose witness protection amid death threats

Man City whistleblower Pinto to lose witness protection amid death threatsRui Pinto says he will go into hiding for an indefinite period following the Premier League’s guilty verdict on City.Computer hacker Rui Pinto, the whistleblower whose leaks triggered an investigation into Manchester City Football Club, says he fears for his life after being told that his witness protection would end on October 10.Pinto wrote in a social media post on Friday that he has received “multiple death threats” and he would move to an undisclosed location over fears for his life.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Who is Man City whistleblower Rui Pinto and what has become of him?list 2 of 4Manchester City appeal Premier League financial breach rulinglist 3 of 4Manchester City breaches need tax implication answers, UK Parliament toldlist 4 of 4Protesters halt game as calls grow on Ireland to boycott second Israel gameend of list“Given these circumstances, I have no alternative but to relocate, within the next few days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me,” Pinto wrote on X.Pinto said he was informed on Wednesday that his witness protection programme from Portuguese authorities would end on October 10, “thereby knowingly placing me in a life-threatening situation”.The 37-year-old Portuguese founder of the website Football Leaks obtained private documents that showed City broke league rules from 2009 to 2018. An independent commission found City guilty of all but one of 115 charges brought against them over breaches of Premier League financial rules.On Friday, City filed an appeal against the ruling as it seeks to overturn the decision and avoid potentially severe sanctions.Pinto, a self-taught hacker and activist who has exposed some of the biggest scandals in football, has been a protected witness since August 2020 after agreeing to grant Portuguese authorities access to millions of files gathered before his arrest. His first trial in Portugal began a month later. He was given a suspended sentence for illegally obtaining documents, committing other cybercrimes and attempted extortion