Daniel Kinahan

Early life Daniel Joseph Kinahan was born on 25 June 1977 in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of Jean Boylan (died 2014) and Christy Kinahan. His father is a convicted drug dealer who was widely reported to be the founder and leader of the Kinahan Cartel. He is a second cousin of Janice Boylan, a Sinn Féin member of Dublin City Council. Kinahan grew up in Tallaght before moving to the Oliver Bond flats in the Liberties area. At the age of 23, he was one of five people arrested in connection with a "vicious attack" on two members of the Garda Síochána outside Shelbourne Park; he was charged with assault and refused bail by Dublin District Court. The charges were dropped the next year.

In 2007, Kinahan was reported to be part of a bet-to-lose syndicate involving jockey Kieren Fallon. , including his father, Christy Kinahan, and brother Christopher Jr.

Drug Enforcement Agency documents DEA documents sent to the Dutch police exposed what would be a super drug cartel headed by Daniel Kinahan, Raffaele Imperiale (Camorra's drugs and arms dealer), Ridouan Taghi (Dutch criminal, now in jail) and Edin Gačanin (Bosnian drug trafficker). The group was observed by the DEA having meetings in the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, the base of the alleged cartel. The meetings took place in 2017, however, it reached the Dutch media only in October 2019. The DEA regards this as one of the world's fifty largest drug cartels, with a virtual monopoly of Peruvian cocaine and it would control around a third of the cocaine trade in Europe. According to the DEA documents, the destination for all the drugs shipments would be Dutch ports.

Hutch–Kinahan feud Kinahan and his family were involved in the Hutch-Kinahan feud, along with the Hutch gang. The feud began with the murder of Hutch gang member Gary Hutch in Spain in 2015; in 2018, a Spanish police officer told a court in Marbella that Kinahan had ordered Hutch's murder. The murder sparked a feud where at least eighteen people have been killed. The Kinahans were believed to be behind a number of murders in the feud; Eddie Hutch Snr. was shot dead in North Strand Dublin in February 2016, Gareth Hutch was shot dead in May 2016 and another nephew Derek Coakley-Hutch was shot dead in January 2018. Other associates of Hutch killed in the feud included cigarette smuggler Noel "Kingsize" Duggan in March 2016, and Noel "Duck Egg" Kirwan, who was shot dead in December 2016; neither of these were involved with the gang and were killed merely for their association with Gerry Hutch. The feud also saw two innocents, Martin O'Rourke and Trevor O'Neill, killed by Kinahan gang members in cases of mistaken identity.

Kinahan was the reported target of the 2016 Regency Hotel Shooting in Dublin, in which three people were shot, including 32-year-old Kinahan associate David Byrne, who was shot dead. It was reported that the Garda Síochána believed Kinahan fled the attack by jumping out of a window.

The High Court was told in 2022 that Daniel Kinahan and Thomas Kavanagh had given €4.5m in two suitcases to Jim Mansfield Jnr to invest, but that the deal had collapsed when his finances suffered during the economic downturn. He later reached a deal with them to repay the house, which he had owned since 2014. The court found the property to be proceeds of drug trafficking. It is the first such property to be seized from him and was auctioned off in December 2024.

United States sanctions In April 2022 the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Daniel Kinahan, his father Christy Kinahan and brother Christy Kinahan Jr. as well as four other key associates of the Kinahan family. The OFAC notice refers to the family and its associates collectively as the "Kinahan Organized Crime Group" or "KOCG." The action adds the Crime Group to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, pursuant to the United States International Emergency Economic Powers Act and .

The addition to SDN List blocks any property of the designated persons within the United States financial system, and prohibits United States persons from business dealings with them. Violations of the sanctions, including assisting in their evasion, come with a maximum criminal penalty of twenty years imprisonment.

On 12 April 2022, the United States Department of State announced the offering of rewards of up to US$5 million under the Narcotics Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the Kinahan family members. The reward is offered jointly with the Garda Síochána, National Crime Agency, and Drug Enforcement Administration.

On the morning of Monday 13 September 2022, a combined force of six enforcement agencies led by the Spanish Civil Guard's elite Central Operative Unit, arrested English-born former Cork restaurateur John Francis "Johnny" Morrissey at his villa in Marbella, Spain. Known to be a former enforcer and current money-launderer for the KOCG, he was the first of the seven named by the OFAC to be arrested, having fled Ireland more than 20 years before after reportedly being involved in a bid to harm a Criminal Assets Bureau officer in Ireland. Morrissey gained notoriety from being part of the team publicising his wife Nicola's Scottish-based Nero Drinks Company Ltd, which was thought to be part of Morrissey's €200 million EUR annual money-laundering operation, leading to her arrest as well at the same time.

Bank accounts freeze On 21 April 2022, the United Arab Emirates froze his assets, including both personal and business bank accounts.

2026 arrest and extradition On 15 April 2026, Kinahan was arrested in Dubai on foot of an Irish arrest warrant in relation to organised crime charges; he was detained within 48 hours of the warrant being issued, and legal proceedings began for his extradition to Ireland.

On 9 August, Kinahan was extradited from Dubai and flown to Baldonnell Air Base by the Irish Air Corps, before being driven by armed police escort to appear at the Special Criminal Court (SCC), in the Criminal Courts of Justice, Dublin. The SCC is a juryless court reserved for serious organised crime and terrorism cases, decided by three judges. However, he has remained a prominent figure in the international boxing world, including as an advisor and matchmaker for Fury.

Despite the apparent cutting of ties with MTK Global in February 2017, Kinahan remained an active figure in global boxing. On 10 June 2020, it was reported that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua had reached an agreement in principle for a two-fight deal, which pundits touted as the "biggest fight in British boxing history". Fury publicly thanked Kinahan for helping to broker the agreement. "Big shout-out Dan, he got this done, literally over the line, two-fight deal, Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua next year." he said. In March 2022, Mauricio Sulaimán, President World Boxing Council (WBC) said of Kinahan: “I am nobody to judge any person, and that has been the policy of our organisation, to combat all types of discrimination and abuse of power, before any person and group. That is why Daniel will have our full support in his quest to bring benefits to boxing.”

In June 2020, the Irish government expressed its "outrage" over the involvement of Kinahan in the brokering of the proposed boxing agreement, leading to Kinahan being named in the Irish parliament, Dáil Éireann, and being singled out by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the country's prime minister. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs contacted authorities in the United Arab Emirates regarding Kinahan. BBC News reported that "politicians, police officers and the public in Ireland are keen that the outside world get to know what they call the real Daniel Kinahan."

Also in June 2020, Kinahan, who served as a "special adviser" to KHK Sports was dropped from the role after just a month. KHK Sports, owned by Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, a son of the king of Bahrain, enlisted the assistance of the head of international media relations for the Bahrain government, in communicating the statement of Kinahan's termination in the role to media outlets directly.

Panorama documentary In February 2021 BBC Panorama broadcast a report on Kinahan's involvement in boxing. Barry McGuigan spoke of intimidation in boxing. On the Panorama programme, lawyers acting for MTK Global confirmed that Kinahan was still advising fighters. One journalist was forced to move out of his home in Northern Ireland and his family were moved to a secure location under PSNI protection due to a threat to his life.

On 7 February 2021 Billy Joe Saunders, a boxer who employs Kinahan as adviser, sent journalist Nicola Tallant direct messages on Twitter challenging her "write something positive about Daniel Kinahan" in exchange for being granted a face-to-face interview with Kinahan. Tallant, who writes for the Sunday World, rejected the offer. He also denied making threats to a journalist and confirmed that he was still involved in boxing. – not the SCC) and said he had no convictions.

Summons issued In December 2020 a racketeering summons was served to him in Dubai by US lawyers. Boxing promoter Moses Herrida filed a civil cause of action over the signing of Joseph Diaz while he was under contract to Herrida Boxing Management. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, he has a residence in the Palm Jumeirah. He has been married to Caoimhe Robinson since 2017. Formerly the partner of murdered drug lord Micka Kelly, Robinson is from the Coolock area of Dublin. Their wedding, held at the Burj Al Arab hotel, was attended by criminals from various backgrounds such as Ridouan Taghi (Moroccan-Dutch), Ricardo Riquelme Vega (Chilean), and Raffaele Imperiale (Italian).