Rui Pinto, the whistleblower whose Football Leaks documents triggered a Premier League investigation into Manchester City's financial misconduct, is in talks with the UK's Serious Fraud Office to help uncover financial and sporting crime in exchange for police protection, according to British media reports.
Pinto's lawyers have been contacted by the SFO after he stated willingness to assist UK authorities. The SFO declined to confirm whether Pinto is in talks, citing standard practice to avoid prejudice to law enforcement activity. Pinto appeared to confirm the discussions by reposting a related article on social media.
The 38-year-old founded Football Leaks, which obtained documents showing Manchester City broke league rules from 2009 to 2018. City were found guilty of all but one of 115 charges brought over financial rule breaches.
Pinto said last month that Portugal's witness protection programme was set to terminate his protection on October 10, citing death threats and assassination risks. He launched a crowdfunding campaign to help relocate to an undisclosed location. The Portuguese Ministry of Justice subsequently agreed to extend his protection pending a new hearing after his lawyers challenged the termination.
Pinto's lawyer, William Bourdon, told the Guardian that "the process is under way" regarding discussions with UK authorities.