The Kinahan cartel are in a new battle to keep their laundered drug money.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates in Dubai where Christy Kinahan Snr and his sons Christy Jnr and Daniel are all living has started a new war against money laundering. Six foreign exchange houses were fined millions in recent weeks for breaching the rules.
But now the crackdown has spread across several sectors previously untouched by the regulator – property, gold and jewellery trading plus auditing and corporate service providers.
The UAE Central Bank confirmed it is now working hand in hand with the Dubai police to increase and tighten up surveillance on suspicious transactions across all businesses.
They have created new data sharing channels so they can identify the true individuals behind corporate structures and financial dealings.
The Dubai regulator and government said there is now zero tolerance for institutions who fail to protect their financial system from abuse.
Two foreign banks were also fined along with individual executives caught breaking the rules. A senior Garda source said: “This move will put serious financial pressure on the Kinahans and all their business interests in Dubai.
“They own a portfolio of properties in the Gulf with many held in the names of other people plus a number of so called legitimate businesses. The authorities in Dubai are cleaning up their act and no longer want to be a heaven for various international criminals.”
The UAE has also come under pressure from various other countries including both the EU and the United States to meet global financial and business compliance standards.
The latest crackdown comes after the extradition from Dubai back to Ireland over a week ago of top Kinahan gang member Sean McGovern – a right hand man of the family.
He is currently being detained at the maximum security Portlaoise Prison on murder charges. Last Monday, the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris warned the notorious crime family that they were coming from them.
Both he and the Government are increasingly confident they can get the three Kinahans back home to stand trial for a variety of serious charges. The United States is also after them and has five million dollars each for their capture.
Mr Harris was speaking on Monday – 12 days after Daniel Kinahan’s key confidant Sean McGovern was sent back from Dubai to face serious charges in his native Dublin, including murder.
He added: “They should be worried. Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice.”
Speaking at Garda HQ in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, Mr Harris warned the leaders – who like McGovern were hit with sanctions by United States authorities in April 2022 – were the subject of an unprecedented international law enforcement operation.
He said: “They should have been worried now for a number of years because there’s huge effort, huge investigative effort, and international effort, has gone into the investigation of the overall Kinahan organised crime gang.
“A lot of things which they said couldn’t be done, have been done. So following on from the sanctions, the work that we’ve undertaken with the UAE, and the work that specifically we’ve undertaken with the police in Dubai has been very fruitful.
“They have been very active partners with us in terms of investigation, providing us information, and obviously, UAE authorities have worked to support the extradition. And you see an individual then extradited back to Ireland to face justice here, and that’s the correct thing to do.”
The sanctions also saw each of the Kinahan trio have a bounty of $5million placed on their heads. And Mr Harris told other members of the gang that they should consider turning their bosses in and taking the reward money.
He added: “I would also point out the other senior lieutenants within the Kinahan Organised Crime group who are now facing justice or are imprisoned, and the sanctions and the rewards still stand.
“And I would point to there’s $15million there of reward money through the federal law enforcement authorities of the US, so that is still in play as well.
“I just want to remind others in the Kinahan Organised Grime Gang of the perilous position that they’re now in. Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice.
“So all of them should be worried, and they should be thinking about the choices, serious life choices that are now ahead of them, in respect of what to do over the coming months. Our work with the Dubai police obviously carries on.”
The Gardaí and international police forces and intelligence agencies are watching the cartel leaders in case they try to make a run from Dubai.
The Kinahans have been living the high life in the Gulf since they fled Marbella in Spain in 2017 and are running their worldwide drugs operation from there. The Garda source added: “If they run out of money, they will be easier to catch.”
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