Why have the Kinahans not left their base in UAE for the past four years?
News that Kinahan cartel founder Christy Kinahan snr and his sons, Daniel and Christopher jnr, have not left the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for four years offers real insight into how small their world has become. Though the cartel’s wealth has been estimated at more than €1 billion, they have confined themselves to the seven emirates in the Persian Gulf that make up the UAE. It has become their gilded cage in the desert. They are literally too scared to leave it for fear of losing control of their lives and their liberty.New images, purportedly of Christy snr and Daniel, were published by the Sunday Times at the weekend. Garda sources stressed, however, that finding the Kinahans has never been the problem for the teams of detectives investigating them.“There is that misconception that if we could find the Kinahans we could lock them up. But we don’t need to find them because they were never lost. We know exactly where they are,” said one source.READ MOREIran war is ‘pretty much’ complete, says TrumpOwen Doyle: The officials let Wales down against IrelandMy wife, who is not Jewish, asks me if we’ll know when it’s time to leave IrelandMan charged with partner’s murder told 999 call she stabbed herself in stomach, trial hearsBefore any of the Kinahans could be arrested in Dubai, and extradited to Ireland to stand trial, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) must approve criminal charges. That has not happened to date, despite a Garda file on the Kinahan leadership having been submitted to the DPP in 2023.Garda sources insist a constant flow of information about the Kinahans is reaching them, including where they live, where they socialise and even what gyms they visit.However, until enough evidence is gathered to ensure criminal charges are approved, in Ireland or perhaps the United States, the Kinahans are free to live openly, even travel internationally.So why have they not left UAE for four years?Their lives changed significantly in April 2022, when the US department of the treasury officially joined the Garda’s investigation of the cartel. The Americans imposed financial sanctions on the three Kinahans and some of their associates. It meant no US citizen could do business with them and they were locked out of the US banking system. Those moves effectively ended Daniel Kinahan’s role as one of professional boxing’s biggest promoters. Rewards of $5 million were offered to anyone who could supply information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the three Kinahans.When the Americans moved so publicly against the cartel, it appears the Kinahans decided Dubai was the best place for them. That sense of security arises from the fact they have run their global drug business from there for a decade. They have never been arrested there and have never been shot at by a rival – ideal conditions for cartel leaders.Daniel Kinahan is a member of the European super cartel, which is headquartered in Dubai and controls about a third of the European cocaine market. Gardaí also believe the Kinahan cartel, operating from Dubai, has put in place financial arrangements to move and conceal vast sums of money. Control of that may be undermined, even lost, if they left Dubai and were refused re-entry, perhaps on the basis of being sanctioned by the Americans. They are effectively living under a self-imposed ‘shelter in place’ arrangement, for fear crossing a border is simply too risky and may trigger their arrest.Last weekend, The Sunday Times and investigative collective Bellingcat published images of Christy snr and Daniel. They were videoed and photographed as they sat cageside last June at the 971 Fighting Championship mixed martial arts (MMA) event in Dubai. Christy snr wore a hat and held his hand to his face in a bid to conceal his identity.But Daniel appeared to have no such qualms, even being captured in images next to one of the highest-profile figures at the event, former MMA fighter Mounir Lazzez. Lazzez previously described Daniel Kinahan as his friend and adviser, though there is no suggestion whatever he is involved in crime. Lazzez was always very likely to be picked out in the crowd by the cameras at the Dubai event because he founded the 971 Fighting Championship promotion.Kinahan’s presence beside Lazzez, gardaí believe, is a reflection of the fact the Irishman is not hiding in Dubai and still craves the limelight in combat sports, where he himself was once a major promoter before he was sanctioned.
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