The United States is imposing sanctions on senior members of the Kinahan crime cartel as part of international action to clamp down on the group's activities.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the order against the 'Kinahan Organized Crime Group' along with seven of its key members.
These include Christopher Kinahan Senior, Daniel Kinahan, Christopher Kinahan Junior, and three associated businesses.
“The Kinahan Organized Crime Group smuggles deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe, and is a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson.
“Criminal groups like the KOCG prey on the most vulnerable in society and bring drug-related crime and violence, including murder, to the countries in which they operate.
"Treasury is proud to have coordinated so closely with our international counterparts, and the U.S. government will continue to use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks.”
The action, announced on Monday night, follows collaboration between the US department as well as OFAC, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Department of State, US Customs and Border Protection, Gardai, the UK’s National Crime Agency, and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation.
According to the Treasury Department, the KOCG "operates in Ireland and is also established in the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates" and "was designated as a significant transnational criminal organization".
"The KOCG emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s as the most powerful organized crime group operating in Ireland," the statement continues.
"Since then, Irish courts have concluded that the KOCG is a murderous organization involved in the international trafficking of drugs and firearms.
"Criminal activities of the KOCG, including international money laundering, generate proceeds in the United Kingdom, which are then pooled together and passed to local criminals before being handed to Irish organized crime group members and laundered out of the United Kingdom.
"The KOCG also frequently uses Dubai as a facilitation hub for its illicit activities. Since February 2016, the KOCG has been involved in a gang war with another group in Ireland and Spain, resulting in numerous murders, including of two innocent bystanders."
The sanctions mean that all property and interests in property of the mentioned Kinahan members that are in the US or in the possession or control of US persons "must be blocked and reported to OFAC".
OFAC’s regulations "generally prohibit all transactions by US persons or persons within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons".
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