Mob boss Daniel Kinahan was in a desperate race to escape Dubai last night — after the desert state froze all his assets and prepared to send him back to Europe to face justice.
“He is running out of road, his time in Dubai is coming to an end one way or the other,” a source said last night.
And as Kinahan and other leaders of his cartel were hit with massive sanctions by the United Arab Emirates, we've learned that gardai are following new leads against them — after they were inundated with calls from people eager to get their hands on a $5 million reward to bring them down.
READ MORE: MTK Global to cease operations after US government impose sanctions on Daniel Kinahan
Gardai have confirmed that last week’s press conference in Dublin’s City Hall where the US government offered the megabucks deal for information leading to the destruction of the Kinahan cartel was already bearing fruit.
A spokesman said: “The announcements made at City Hall last week have generated additional avenues to pursue — and give us confidence we will achieve our objectives.
“An Garda Siochana continued to work with partners at an international level to ensure we achieve the objective of dismantling the Kinahan organised crime group.”
The statement came just hours after the dramatic revelation that the UAE government has made the unprecedented decision to freeze the Kinahan cartel’s assets in their country — including all of their personal and corporate bank accounts.
Kinahan, his father Christy Snr and brother Christy Jnr have all been directly targeted by the bombshell move — which means they can’t even buy a pint of milk.
Sources have revealed that the measures announced by Dubai yesterday mirror the American sanctions, which means nobody can do business with them. That means not even supermarkets can serve them, sources said.
Sources said the unprecedented financial moves against the gang leaders in Dubai — including the three Kinahan men and key ally Sean McGovern — has also heightened the prospect of the mob bosses being arrested by authorities.
It’s understood gardai believe UAE authorities no longer want the men in their country, and it is increasingly likely they will be arrested and extradited to Ireland to face serious charges here.
But the sources also said another possibility was that the UAE would hand the men over to the Americans — and that would see them sent to the US to stand trial there.
That could see them going on trial like notorious Mexican drugs baron El Chapo who is currently serving life plus 30 years in a supermax federal high security prison.
Sources say Kinahan now has very few options left for a safe haven — though it is thought he will try to flee Dubai and start a new life abroad. It is feared he could attempt to run to Russia, Kazakhstan, Venezuela or even Myanmar.
According to the Financial Times, which broke the story on Thursday, the asset freeze on the Kinahan cartel includes all of their personal and corporate bank accounts.
In a highly significant announcement, the UAE government also publicly stated for the first time that it is actively working with authorities in Ireland, the UK, US and Spain in investigating the Kinahan gang.
Such a development is a hammer blow to the cartel, which only last week was hit by massive sanctions by the US government.
The sanctions, which came from the US Department of the Treasury, also saw a $5m reward announced for any information that could lead to their prosecution.
Sources say this development will now likely lead to mob boss Daniel Kinahan being booted out of the UAE, where for the last six years he has led the cartel from the city of Dubai — believing himself to be untouchable.
Last week Kinahan’s personal address in Dubai was published for the world to see — while businesses located there that were connected to him were also sanctioned.
Over the years the brazen mobster has been photographed with well known sporting figures and boxers in the Middle East metropolis as his key associates were being locked up for their involvement in cartel-sanctioned murders back in Ireland.
And now authorities in the UAE have also confirmed that they are actively investigating the Kinahan cartel, working alongside authorities in the US, UK, Ireland and Spain.
Such an announcement is hugely consequential — as it reveals publicly for the first time that authorities in the UAE are not tolerant of the cartel’s presence in their country, a place the Kinahans believed they had safe harbour up until now.
“The relevant authorities cooperate closely on cases involving foreign elements, in line with the UAE’s international commitments and national legal framework for combating illicit activity,” the UAE government told the FT .
It also signals potential trouble for Daniel Kinahan — who is wanted by gardai for questioning over several gangland murders.
Similarly authorities in Spain want to speak to Kinahan about the gangland murder of Gary Hutch in their country in 2015.
The UAE’s bombshell announcement that it is working with both authorities signifies for the first time it could be willing to help extradite Kinahan after all.
Recently authorities in the UAE handed over wanted mafioso Raffaele Imperiale to the Italian government — a sign that perhaps Kinahan could face the same fate.
Previously Kinahan believed he was relatively safe from prosecution as no treaty for extradition exists between Ireland, the EU and the UAE — making it incredibly difficult for him to be extradited.
However the move this week does give way for Kinahan to be deported from the UAE — especially when all of his assets within the country have now been seized.
The sanctions this week have rocked the boxing world, where for years Kinahan has attempted to cement his position as the next ‘Don King’ of the sport.
Major boxing figures such as Bob Arum have now distanced themselves from Kinahan, while Tyson Fury, who he once advised, said the sanctions were “none of my business”.
It also led to MTK Global — a boxing firm co-founded by Kinahan in Marbella, Spain in 2012, having to cease its operations this week.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has welcomed the UAE government’s decision to freeze the assets of the Kinahans.
She said the great work of the gardai over the past week has clearly worked in “tightening the net” on the criminals.
She said: “An Garda Siochana’s tireless work in building an international law enforcement coalition to dismantle the gang has sent a clear signal that nobody is out of reach of the law. The net is now clearly tightening on the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.”
And Taoiseach Micheal Martin also welcomed the UAE move last night.
He said: “It is part of a wider international effort to clamp down on organised crime, particularly the Kinahan crime group. Following on the heels of the decision by the United States, I think it is very welcome news. Ultimately crime does not pay.”
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