The hacker Rui Pinto, the source of the revelations of "Football Leaks" and prosecuted in Portugal for attempted extortion, has been released from pre-trial detention to be placed under house arrest, his lawyers announced on Wednesday 8 April.
This 31 year old Portuguese man, arrested in Hungary and extradited to his country a little over a year ago, "Is now subject to the obligation to stay at home, combined with the ban on internet access", according to a press release sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP) by its Portuguese representative, Francisco Teixeira da Mota, and his French colleague William Bourdon.
Rui Pinto a "Already abandoned the premises of the prison establishment", an annex to the headquarters of the judicial police in Lisbon, they said. While welcoming the decision, his lawyers said they hoped that the judicial authorities would take further steps paving the way for his release. "Total freedom".
Presented by his defenders as a whistleblower, the hacker must be tried for extortion, for having tried to blackmail the Doyen Sports investment fund and various computer crimes linked to the so-called leaks. "Football Leaks" which he organized from the end of 2015.
Also involved in the "Luanda Leaks"
The revelations of "Football Leaks" have led to the opening of legal proceedings in France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland and remain to date the largest leak of information behind the scenes of football.
On the basis of information obtained from these states, the justice system launched in early March a large sweep against the main clubs in Portugal and the super agent Jorge Mendes, with dozens of searches and indictments due to suspicion of tax evasion when transferring players.
Last January, Rui Pinto claimed to be also behind the "Luanda Leaks", a leak of 715,000 compromising documents for the Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos.
