A lawyer suing Daniel Kinahan says he will make the mob boss sit for a deposition "wherever he may be" - if he fails to testify in the US.
Eric Montalvo is representing boxing manager Moses Heredia, who is suing Kinahan and promoters MTK Global for $2million over the alleged poaching of boxer JoJo Diaz.
Mr Montalvo revealed:
- He will fly to Dubai and make Kinahan sit down for a deposition if he fails to testify in the US as he claims he’s willing to do.
- He believes Kinahan got good legal advice in having a planned high-profile podcast pulled at the last minute – as the crime boss has many secrets to hide.
- His client is willing to settle “for a reasonable amount of money” rather than have this legal battle go on for years.
- He hopes to meet with gardai to discuss what they know about Kinahan.
Mr Montalvo, a former marine, said he doesn’t buy Kinahan’s recent written submission that he’s willing to testify.
He added: “Here’s the thing, his offer to testify has to be viewed in my opinion in the context of the fact that he knows he can’t travel to the United States.
“So it’s an empty promise right? He’s not going to be able to come to the United States to testify.
“What I can do is depose him. I can conduct a deposition and I can go to Dubai or wherever he is.”
Last week in a signed declaration submitted to the court, Kinahan stated that “if called upon as a witness I could and would competently testify thereto”.
Kinahan also claimed he does “not work for and am not employed by MTK Global Sports Management, LLC, MTK Global USA.”
But Mr Montalvo believes he can link Kinahan to MTK, a company which was co-founded by him in 2012.
He added: “At the end of the day, things don’t happen in a vacuum.
“There are organisations or entities that dealt with MTK on these fights and there are going to be communications and people that were involved and we are going to be getting into all of that.
“Mr Kinahan is certainly someone who gets involved in things,” he said.
Recently Kinahan made headlines again when it emerged he was due to sit down for a “tell-all” three hour interview with well-known podcast host James English.
However the podcast, which was due to be aired on St Patrick’s Day, was dramatically pulled at the last minute, for what Mr English said were “legal reasons.”
And speaking to this paper on Thursday, Mr Montalvo says he believes Kinahan got sound legal advice if he had the interview pulled - as anything he says can only make things worse for him at this stage.
“I think that was probably prudent for him to do that. I think that was good counsel. The reason he would not do that in my opinion is there’s likely liability there.
“He is going to say things that might make things even worse for him so you know, if he’s got no concerns then you speak publicly, you don’t have any restriction.
“But if you’ve got some concerns about potential legal liability, then you best be quiet and I think that’s an acknowledgement that there can be potential consequences here and he shouldn’t create a greater record from which to draw from,” he said.
Mr Montalvo says Kinahan appears desperate to whitewash his image - but he cannot do so because of the stain of his connections to organised crime.
“The reason he’s trying to make himself look better is he desperately wants to participate in the boxing world and he can’t do so as they continue to scrutinize his illicit activities.”
In High Court submissions in 2018, gardai formally named Kinahan as the “controller and manager” of a massive international criminal cartel that deals in drugs and weapons across Europe.
And now Mr Montalvo says he hopes to meet with gardai to gain further insight into what they know about Kinahan - in order to aid his case.
“On our side my thought is if I can sit down with people who know more about his activities in a real way.
“I think it would be helpful to sit down with people who have looked at this in more detail instead of trying to figure this out on my own.
“I think I could benefit from that and it makes sense both from a civil and criminal standpoint given the RICO charges,” he said.
In terms of the court case, Mr Montalvo accepts that it could go on for many years, and cost his client many millions of dollars.
But, he says a settlement is on the table for the right price - and that it’s something that could spare both sides a lot of money.
Despite this he says Mr Kinahan’s character and his ties to crime have and will continue to be scrutinized in the public domain.
“If they put forward a reasonable amount of money to resolve the matter then there’s no reason to litigate because that’s what this is ultimately about,” he said.
“I have absolutely no problem holding him accountable through public discourse and revealing what they’ve done in a more public way but from a client standpoint I think everybody would prefer not to undergo two, three years of litigation, spend several million dollars and still get to the same point.”
Mr Montalvo says his client Moses Heredia was ultimately wronged by having his fighter JoJo Diaz “stolen” from him by Daniel Kinahan and MTK, a claim both defendants deny.
And he says ultimately he wants not only payment for that, but a recognition that he was wronged by the organisation.
Mr Montalvo has in his submissions also accused MTK and Kinahan of breaching the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act by using money derived from organised crime activity.
MTK Global meanwhile has dismissed all of the claims against it.
“Mr Heredia’s RICO claims fail,” submitted MTK Global’s lawyer David Harris, “because, contrary to his wild allegations, MTK Global is not a front for a European drug cartel, does not engage in money laundering, and does not make money from the sale of illicit drugs; rather, MTK Global is a successful and well-respected boxing management and promotions company.”
READ MORE: Lawyer for boxing agent vows to get millions from MTK and Daniel Kinahan
READ MORE: Garda Commissioner Drew Harris travels to US to get feds' help to bring down Daniel Kinahan
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.
