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Rui Pinto, creator of the electronic platform Football Leaks, which begins to be judged on Friday, today described Benfica as “an octopus of influence” and said that those responsible for the club “believe that they dominate the country.”
“This club is like an octopus of influence. There is a very important detail that I want the public to think about. At the same time that the Portuguese authorities were sending a request to the Hungarian authorities to extend my European arrest warrant, the Hungarian Foreign Minister received two VIP tickets for Benfica matches and met at the Benfica stadium. This is Benfica”Said Rui Pinto, in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, published this Wednesday by Expresso.
Rui Pinto says that “after the publication of the Benfica e-mails, everyone began to realize that the modus operandi of their coaches was to extend their influence, often out of courtesy, to achieve their goals” and he understands that the club ” he was one of the parties most interested in extending the European arrest warrant. “
The creator of Footbal Leaks, the platform through which he released thousands of confidential documents from the world of football and alleged tax evasion schemes committed in several countries, guarantees that he does not consider himself a “hacker” and defends the role of ” complainant “(whistleblower).
“Anyone who seeks, receives and analyzes information on relevant crimes such as corruption and tax fraud and decides to share it with the international media or directly with the authorities should be considered a whistleblower. Take the Panama Papers as an example. Today, most people have already forgotten that it was an act of ‘piracy’ (piracy)“, he says.
Rui Pinto, who is at liberty and, for security reasons, inserted in the witness protection program in an undisclosed location and under police protection, admits feeling “a little sad because Football Leaks did not achieve everything he hoped for at the beginning. “. “.
“For whistleblowers, the world of soccer is not the easiest place to enter. I think Football Leaks was one of the most dangerous leaks. Whistleblowers in soccer are in much greater danger than those in other businesses, such as the Panama Papers or LuxLeaks.“, said.
Also responsible for the Luanda Leaks process, Rui Pinto believes that Isabel dos Santos’ complaints have changed her image in public opinion.
“There was a change in the press about me: some journalists who always called me a pirate, hacker or computer spy, now call me a whistleblower. Before, everyone treated Football Leaks as a silly war between football clubs. But, when Luanda Leaks appeared, everyone realized that there was much more to it than that. Even the prosecutors realized that this was bigger than they expected. This project ended up helping me finally get out of jail“, he says.
Rui Pinto, a self-taught computer scientist, begins to be tried on Friday for 90 crimes: 68 of improper access, 14 crimes of violation of correspondence, six crimes of illegitimate access, computer sabotage to the Sporting SAD and extortion.
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