Daniel Kinahan, once a key figure in boxing and advisor to numerous top boxers, was arrested in Dubai following an international investigation into money laundering and drug trafficking
Daniel Kinahan, who was once publicly praised by Tyson Fury for setting up a multi-million euro deal for two fights with Anthony Joshua, has been arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The mega-fight between Fury and Joshua never materialized, but the Irishman had previously built a powerful boxing management empire that looked after some of the biggest names in the sport. MTK Global managed the careers of stars such as Billy Joe Saunders, Carl Frampton and Josh Taylor.
In the wake of persistent reports that Kinahan was an Irish crime boss, the Transnational Organized Crime Reward Program of the US State Department, in cooperation with the DEA and the FBI, offered a reward of USD 5 million for information on Kinahan, his father Christy Kinahan Sr. and his brother Christy Kinahan Jr. The reasons given were money laundering and drug trafficking.
As a result, US companies were banned from doing business with the group – a circumstance that also had an impact on the boxing business, as Tyson Fury is marketed by US promoter Top Rank.
Kinahan had already resigned from his position at MTK Global before the controversy, but remained active in the background as an advisor for numerous fighters.
The 48-year-old moved to Dubai after surviving a failed attack during an official weigh-in ceremony at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in 2016, in which his confidant David Byrne was killed. The arrest comes after Irish authorities requested his extradition on charges that he was the head of an international criminal organization.