Garda Commissioner Drew Harris today said anyone involved in sport who is doing business with Daniel Kinahan should reconsider in light of major new sanctions placed on the Kinahan organised crime group.
Kinahan has been involved in professional boxing, as an advisor to world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and other fighters, many of whom are represented by MTK Sports, a management company that has a partnership with Kinahan.
The US government has imposed sanctions on the three most senior members of the Kinahan organised crime group and offered a reward of up to $5m for information leading to their arrest or the financial disruption of the gang.
Daniel Kinahan, who has been named in the High Court as the controller and manager of the Kinahan gang, his father Christopher Snr, a convicted drug trafficker, and brother Christopher Jnr, who was caught travelling on a false identity document in Germany, have all been placed on an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, a list of the US Treasury Department.
The Marbella-based MTK have beome one of the most influential management companies in boxing and, having previously denied any involvement with Kinahan, in 2020 announced a partnership with the Dubai-based Dubliner.
Today at a press conference in Dublin, Commissioner Harris issued a warning to those in the world of sport who have ties to Kinahan.
"In respect of individuals, and very prominent sporting individuals, who are obviously in some way connected with this grouping. I would say you need to look to your sport, you need to look to your fans and you need to think of your own reputation, because this is a very serious announcement made today after a huge amount of work.
"It will withstand scrutiny and what we're saying today is based very solidly on the evidence and information that very many law enforcement agencies here today have gleaned and have provided in effect to an independent office for what is a presidential direction."
Last month, Kinahan was pictured at a boxing event in Dubai with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said 'prominent sporting individuals' who are 'in some way connected' with the Kinahan organised crime gang 'need to think of their own reputation' after the US announced sanctions on the group | Read more: https://t.co/7qwXOvkAvJ pic.twitter.com/H1vryamysu
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 12, 2022
