If this was a movie, the gangster would be seen gloating over hitting the big time
because the U.S. government put a five-million dollar bounty on his head — in four languages
This, though, is real life and the consequences of a surprising move against Ireland's Kinahan cartel
by an international consortium of Western powers is probably too serious to take any delight in
Just as Daniel Kinahan was publicly burnishing his
reputation as an influential boxing promoter, on an even bigger stage, law enforcement officials
and diplomats from the United States, Britain, and Ireland gathered in Dublin to declare him,
his father, and his brother of being the apex of "the notorious Kinahan organized crime group"
The Mob Reporter here with news of what might be the beginning of the end
for an organization seen as a cornerstone of a global super cartel, that authorities
allege is involved in trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and violence. Let me tell you about it
They're serious allegations... "To them I'd say, you can run
but you can't hide from justice forever, and from today, they will be running low on money, friends
and influence..." And there are strong actions backing them up. "...So as of today, the Kinahan
transnational criminal organization joins the ranks of Italy's Camorra, Mexico's Los Zetas,
Japan's Yakuza, and Russia's Thieves-in-law. Also as of today, the result of these
these sanctions, these individuals are immediately separated from the U.S. financial system
and any assets or property under U.S. jurisdiction are immediately blocked at this moment..."
The Kinahans were all born in Dublin, Ireland: the patriarch, Christopher Kinahan Sr., in 1957;
his sons, Daniel in 1977, and Christopher Jr. in 1980. Authorities allege the father is the
crime family's founder and now looks after their property assets while Daniel is the
day-to-day manager and Chris Jr., the money man. There's now a $5 million reward on each of them for
information leading to their arrest and conviction for narcotics trafficking, money laundering, or both
courtesy of the U.S. State Department. Further, the U.S. Treasury Department placed those three
and four other alleged members of the Kinahan cartel and three corporate businesses on the
U.S. sanctions list. This freezes their assets from American transactions. This includes such simple
transactions as flying on a U.S. airline or using a U.S. bank or credit card. Bizarrely, their notice
doesn't give the name that the patriarch is best known as — Christy, Christy Kinahan
"The Dapper Don" listed here just doesn't seem original enough for an Irishman — although it seems
now that the only way Christy will see Dublin again is if he is brought into court or worse
Irish press reports have well documented Christy Kinahan's early underworld rise from the 1970s
through B&Es and boosting cars, fencing goods and forgery. In the 1980s, he did a six-year bit after
being caught with heroin in Dublin. The brightest budding gangsters used prison as a criminal
finishing school, and Christy did that, figuratively and literally. He completed university degrees
while he hooked up with kindred spirits and taught himself Spanish, Dutch and Russian, three important
gangland languages. He understood where underworld money and influence came from: South American
cocaine. The Kinahan cartel started hauling it ashore into Ireland, Britain, and continental Europe
With Christy's two sons at his side, the Kinahans, police say, became Ireland's most powerful
organized crime group. The Kinahan ambition was too great for Ireland alone. They moved to
continental Europe around 2001, forging strategic alliances with like-minded, high-value targets in
the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and elsewhere. People started calling their confederation a super cartel
Last week's announcements are a huge escalation against the clan. But they've survived big sweeps
before. In 2010, in what was code named "Operation Shovel" police in Spain, Britain, Ireland, Belgium
and the Netherlands coordinated raids and arrests targeting the Kinahan organization, also
aiming for the top. It was one of the largest European joint anti-mob probes in a decade
Christy Kinahan's home on Spain's Costa del Sol was one of dozens raided and the father and his
sons Daniel and Christopher were arrested. They were branded "the Irish mafia" and declared to
have criminal connections in 20 countries. Seeing Christy in handcuffs, his head bowed, seemed like
a death knell, but predictions of his demise were dead wrong. The case drowned in bureaucracy, delays
and legal challenges. Most of those detained on the Spanish coast were released without charge
While that gave the Kinahans a touch of the untouchable aura, the operation had further
fallout. One of those arrested in Operation Shovel — the only one in Dublin — was a man named Gary Hutch,
a Kinahan associate who was also part of his own Irish crime family
The Hutch clan and the Kinahans had a falling out and the bullets started flying. One of the
first to fall was Gary Hutch, shot dead in Spain in 2015. Gary Hutch was a nephew of Gerry Hutch, the
alleged head of the Hutch clan, who was nicknamed "The Monk" because of his rather austere lifestyle
at least by gangster standards. That murder began a blood feud between the Hutch clan and the Kinahans
17 murders followed, mostly Hutch men. The feud made international headlines the following year. It was
Feb, 5, 2016. The scene was the Regency Hotel in Dublin, where the public weigh-in of boxers
before a European lightweight title match, which was scheduled for the following day. The match
was being suitably promoted. It was called The Clash of the Clans — it certainly appears it was
Supporters of both boxers were inside the rented hall when armed men dressed as a police SWAT team
and another dressed as a woman entered the hotel and opened fire, some with ak-47s
It seemed a bold attempt at revenge by Hutch gunman. Their top target was likely Daniel Kinahan
who had been there but escaped. But Kinahan associate David Byrne did not. He was shot dead.
Injured in the attack was Sean McGovern, an alleged Kinahan associate who incidentally
was also named by U.S. authorities in last week's freezing order targeting the Kinahan cartel. With
the intense heat brought on by the Regency Hotel drama in Ireland, and the attention from police
in Spain, the Kinahans decamp for a new home. They chose Dubai, a jurisdiction that happens to have no
extradition treaty with Ireland. Christy Kinahan passed the torch on to his son Daniel, who now
runs the day-to-day operations and to whom Kinahan associates report to, authorities allege. While no
one will be more pleased with the full frontal against the Kinahans than the Hutch clan
they have more than the Kinahans to contend with themselves. Gerry Hutch, The Monk himself, was
recently arrested, also in Spain, which seems the go-to home away from home for serious European
criminals. We see here The Monk being arrested in a restaurant in August 2021. The allegations
against him include the shooting and murder at the Regency Hotel — some crimes are never forgotten and
usually it's the ones that truly shocked the public. The allegations against The Monk, like
the allegations against the Kinahan family, have not been tested in court and remain unproven. One
of Kinahan's lawyers previously said Daniel has no criminal convictions and denies he is a crime boss
If anyone collects on the U.S. government's hefty reward, we should get the chance to fully hear
and assess the evidence. And I'll be watching. Check out the bonus content and perks I offer on Patreon
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