Daniel Kinahan

Context

Daniel Kinahan is an Irish man born in Dublin in 1977 who has been described by authorities as a suspected or alleged crime boss and as a senior figure in the Kinahan organised crime group. He has also been described in sources as a boxing promoter and founder of MTK Global ^[2]. Authorities named him as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale ^[2]. The U.S. State Department says the Kinahan Transnational Criminal Organization was established in Dublin in the 1990s and later expanded narcotics trafficking to the UK and mainland Europe ^[1]. The Guardian says he was known as the founder of MTK Global, a boxing management company ^[2]. BBC says the Irish High Court accepted police evidence in 2018 that the Kinahan Organised Crime Group’s drug operations were controlled by Daniel Kinahan ^[3]. U.S. authorities say the Kinahan network has engaged in money laundering, firearms trafficking, and murder ^[1]. Sources describe him differently depending on the authority, jurisdiction, and date; some call him a “suspected” or “alleged” crime boss, while others state authorities named him as a senior organised-crime figure ^[2][3][4][5]. BBC reports his lawyers said he has “no criminal record or convictions,” and another source says no Irish, UAE, or US court has convicted him ^[3][5]. In April 2026, sources reported that he was arrested/detained in the United Arab Emirates ^[2][4][5]. He is commonly confused with Christy Kinahan, his father, who the U.S. State Department says established the Kinahan Transnational Criminal Organization in Dublin in the 1990s ^[1].