The boxing promotions company MTK has announced it has entered into a partnership with Daniel Kinahan and KHK Sports to stage the world's biggest boxing and combat sports events in the Middle East.
Kinahan has been identified in the High Court in Dublin as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale.
The Criminal Assets Bureau said he "controlled and managed" the operations of the Kinahan organised crime group, an organisation that smuggles drugs and guns into Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe and "has associations that facilitate international criminal activity in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America".
MTK had previously denied it had any relationship with Kinahan.
Kinahan was last week appointed as a special advisor to KHK Sports, which was founded in 2015 by His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the fifth son of King Hamad, the ruler of Bahrain.
In today's press release Kinahan is quoted as saying: "This is a monumental move for KHK Sports and MTK Global. Both organizations have been making substantial waves in the international combats sports landscape and combined, the sky is the limit in what they can achieve.
"The only way for the sport to truly grow and be accessible to all, is to make it a truly global sport and this partnership will ensure that boxing is accessible to all in the Middle East and open the region to international opportunities."
Kinahan was also named in a High Court judgment on 31 July 2018 that resulted in the loss of €1.4 million of criminal assets to a Dublin-based criminal organisation led by Liam Byrne, whom the court found was "a trusted lieutenant of Daniel Kinahan and the Kinahan organised crime group".
Gardaí believe this is another step in Kinahan's reinvention as a boxing promoter.
Last week, his role in the sport at the highest level was endorsed by the US promoter Bob Arum, the CEO of MTK Sandra Vaughan and by KHK Sports, which is linked to the Bahrain royal family.
Mr Arum confirmed that Kinahan was working on securing a world heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
