- One of boxing’s most powerful figures, Daniel Kinahan, was sanctioned by the US Monday.
- The US government says Kinahan is a drug trafficker and is issuing a reward for information that leads to his arrest.
- Police say if people in boxing deal with Kinahan they’re “involved in a criminal network.”
Police said Tuesday that if people in sports deal with the boxing advisor and alleged gang lord Daniel Kinahan in any capacity, then they’re “involved in a criminal network.”
At a media event that Insider remotely attended, Irish police commissioner Drew Harris spoke about the deep involvement of Kinahan — who was sanctioned by the US government this week — in the fight game.
Harris wants those who deal with Kinahan in boxing to “look at the probity of their own business and the relationship with their fans” and, ask the question: “Really, is this something they want to be involved with in terms of their legitimate business.”
“I think the answer to that is a resounding no.”
Kinahan is one of boxing’s most powerful figures
Kinahan, a 44-year-old Dubai-based Irishman, reportedly advises Tyson Fury alongside other top-tier athletes like Josh Taylor and Terence Crawford.
Fury even cited him as a broker in the ultimately failed negotiations for a wildly lucrative match against then-heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in 2020.
Photo by TK MMA / Instagram
Kinahan’s near-decade-long presence in boxing has been highly controversial as he is the suspected figurehead of a $1.1 billion drugs and weapons cartel that, according to Ireland’s high court, specializes in execution-style murders, as previously reported by Insider.
On Monday, he was named in a new, damning report from the US Treasury as someone who “sources large quantities of cocaine from South America” to distribute into Ireland.
Kinahan has never been convicted of a crime. Insider requested comment for this story from his legal representatives in the UK and in the US but we have not received a reply.
According to the US Treasury, the Kinahan cartel is “a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering,” said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson.
At Tuesday’s news conference, which took place in Dublin, many representatives from law enforcement agencies around the world, including the UK, US, and Interpol, were present.
There’s a reward for information that leads to Kinahan’s arrest
The US ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin, announced that the US Department of State would issue a “reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the financial disruption” of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group and “for the arrest and convictions of its leaders.”
Cronin then listed by name Daniel Kinahan, his brother Christopher Kinahan Jr., and his father Christopher Kinahan Sr., as people of interest.
Photo by US Treasury
Speaking after Cronin, Harris said: “What was implicit before, and what some individuals could choose to ignore, is absolutely explicit — if you deal with the individuals who are sanctioned as part of the Kinahan organized crime gang, you are dealing with criminals engaged in drug trafficking.”
Cronin said Kinahan cartel leaders have been accused of “a wide range of heinous crimes all around the world including murder, trafficking, firearms, and narcotics.
“Countering transnational organized crime is an urgent priority for President Biden and the US government,” she said.
“Transnational organized crime is a multi-billion dollar business that transcends geographical boundaries and threatens global stability and democracies. Every year millions of lives are affected.