KINAHAN WAVES DUBAI TO TRADING LICENCE
Five of cartel chief’s Emirates-based front companies to launder drug cash are terminated
A NETWORK of front companies set up by exiled mob boss Daniel Kinahan and his brother Christopher jnr to launder their drug money has been shut down by authorities in the United Arab Emirates.
We can reveal two years after the US imposed sanctions on the cartel, a total of five of the Kinahans’ Emirates-based companies have had their licences cancelled.
It is yet another example of how the Kinahans’ once-booming drug empire is now crumbling as pressure mounts on all sides and the net closes in on the Dublin mob boss.
Last week, we revealed how Daniel could face a bill of nearly $10m if a US court grants judgement against him in a case by a fight promoter who claims boxer Joseph Diaz was illegally poached using Kinahan’s drugs money.
Meanwhile back home, gardai have recommended Daniel be charged over the murder of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s brother, Eddie, eight years ago as the mobster remains trapped in his Dubai bolthole.
Details of the five Kinahan companies shut down were revealed in updates to the UAE’s National Economic Register.
Three of the five companies shut down since the sanctions were imposed on April 12, 2022, do not appear on the US sanctions list but can be directly tied to the Kinahans through papers filed with the UAE’s Economic Ministry.
TRADING
These three companies operated under the umbrella title ‘Haizum Trading’.
Haizum General Trading does not have a website but it does have an X (formerly Twitter) account, which remains online, where it listed its business as commodity trading — namely sugar, rice, food and oil.
A trove of documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists two years ago revealed how the ownership of the companies was structured to comply with UAE law which then dictated that a 50 per cent share of companies set up in the UAE must be owned by an Emirati.
The documents show how Daniel and Christopher Kinahan Jnr planned to open an import-and-export food business, with a projected profit of $6.8 million, operating out of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).
A due diligence report showed how authorities in Dubai branded Daniel and Christopher Kinahan Jnr’s business plan as “low risk” adding that it was “OK to proceed”.
The DMCC area of Dubai is a free trade zone that was established in 2002.
Another branch of their business, in a separate jurisdiction of the UAE, would trade clothing and textiles.
Their business plan described how ‘Haizum General Trading Co LLC’ would import food from Brazil, Thailand, India, China and East Africa to Persian Gulf countries and beyond.
“We also hope to eventually expand into the trading of edible oil, pasta, and even poultry, if we happen to line up potential leads, prospective clients, and profitable deals for these products,” the business plan read.
“We plan to incorporate the company with a physical office from the get go, as we expect to employ a workforce of seven employees,” it added.
SHAREHOLDERS
They planned to make $6.8 million in the first year, and said that the shareholders had several other “supporting” businesses in the UAE, and were “keen on expanding the size and scale of their operations in the coming year.”
According to records, the reason they chose to set up operations in the DMCC was to have an “international sales office, promote the Haizum business and trade in various agro-commodities all over the world.”
It also showed that Daniel was to own 30 per cent of their LLC company, with 19 per cent owned by Christopher Jnr and the rest by a UAE national, Hadif Al Ktebi.
A copy of the contract, obtained by ICIJ, said that the company had a starting capital of approximately $100,000.
Haizum International General Trading LLC was registered by the Kinahans with the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai on July 10, 2018.
Its licence to trade is now listed as ‘cancelled’
Two other companies, Haizum General Trading Co LLC registered on July 28, 2016 and Haizum General Trading Co LLS (DMCC Branch) set up on September 1, 2021 have also had their licences listed as ‘cancelled’.
Another Kinahan company to have had its licence to operate in the UAE ter---
minated is ‘Ducashew General Trading’ – which also operated out of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.
Ducashew was one of three Kinahan companies named in the US sanctions announced in April 2022.
The Department of Treasury stated: “Ducashew General Trading LLC is a UAE-based business management consulting company.
“Ducashew was designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Daniel Kinahan.
“Daniel Kinahan runs Ducashew through various individuals and is involved in its financial and business management.”
The company’s now-defunct website boasted of Ducashew’s “strong relations with [UAE] government departments, banks, and regulating bodies.”
BOXING
UAE registry records showed that MTK, the now defunct boxing agency co-founded by Daniel Kinahan, and Ducashew shared a Jumeirah Bay Tower address in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers complex.
This was also the address for Kinahan’s food trading company.
Ducashew General Trading’s licence is listed as ‘finished’ while a linked company, Ducashew Consultancy DMMC, in which former MTK owner Sandra Vaughan held the position of director, has had its licence listed as ‘cancelled.’
Another Kinahan linked company is DJK Middle East Trading LLC.
There are no details relating to this company on the UAE’s Economic Register.
Similarly, no details are listed for another company directly linked to Daniel — Geosun Consultancy.
Both these companies are reported to have operated out of the Ajman Freezone.
Finally, no details are listed on the register for Hoopoe Sports LLC — which was also sanctioned by the US government.
Hoopoe was owned by key Kinahan associate Ian Dixon.
NARCOTICS
The US sanctions described Hoopoe “as a UAEbased sports management and advisory company.
“Hoopoe Sports was designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Ian Dixon.”
“Ian Dixon also oversees a fund on behalf of Daniel Kinahan and keeps track of money owed by a narcotics trafficker.”