Court summons Kinahan over alleged RICO act violations

Accused mob boss Daniel Kinahan is being sued by a California based boxing manager.

Daniel Kinahan, who Irish courts, media and politicians have accused of leading an international narcotics smuggling ring, has been summoned to court by a judge for the US District Court for the Central District of California. The summons is in relation to a lawsuit that was recently filed by a boxing manager. That suit claims the plaintiff has been harmed by Kinahan’s alleged breaking of US organized crime laws.

News of the summons was shared by twitter user @arejaywoof.

The lawsuit against Kinahan, which also names MTK Global, MTK’s CSO Paul D. Gibson and Golden Boy Promotions, was filed by Moses Heredia of Heredia Boxing Management. The suit alleged that the defendants poached IBF super featherweight champion Joseph Diaz from Heredia, offering the 28-year-old $100,000 to sign with MTK in spite of his alleged contractual obligations to Heredia.

In Heredia’s lawsuit he states that Kinahan is firmly in control of MTK, a boxing promoter that has—over recent years—risen to become one of the most powerful organizations in boxing. MTK currently manages Tyson Fury, Michael Conlan, Carl Frampton and Billy Joe Saunders. MTK also has an MMA division, which manages the careers of Darren Till, Talia Santos and Mike Grundy.

Heredia’s lawsuit further claims that Kinahan is involved in money laundering and multiple acts that break the US RICO (racketeering influenced and corrupt organization) act.

It is unlikely that Kinahan will appear in court to answer the summons. It is currently believed that Kinahan resides in the Middle East, likely Dubai. Some reports have stated that Kinahan has fortified himself inside that territory and, due to fear of assassination, has hired former Russian special forces members to protect him.

Irish media reports that Kinahan moved to Dubai shortly after the Regency Hotel Shooting in Dublin in 2017. That attack, which targeted an MTK (then doing business as MGM) boxing show weigh-in and resulted in the death of David Byrne, an alleged top lieutenant of the Kinahan organized crime group. It is thought that Kinahan was the target of the attack.

Authorities believe the Regency Hotel shooting was carried out by the Hutch Gang and was part of the ongoing Kinahan-Hutch gang war. That conflict started in 2015 when Gary Hutch was killed by alleged Kinahan members in southern Spain. Hutch was the nephew of alleged Hutch gang boss Gerry Hutch. Since then at least 18 people have been killed in gangland shootings in Ireland and Spain.

After the Regency Hotel shooting MTK sought to distance itself from Kinahan, who co-founded the company with former boxer Matthew Macklin. However, evidence that Kinahan remained involved with MTK continued to surface.

The most notable evidence that Kinahan was working with an MTK client happened earlier this year when Tyson Fury publicly announced that Kinahan negotiated a two-fight deal for him to face Anthony Joshua in 2021. That announcement lead to condemnation from then-Irish leader Leo Varadkar, who implored broadcasters to boycott the fight over Kinahan’s involvement.

Varadkar also stated that his government had contacted their counterparts in the Untied Arab Emirates to discuss Kinahan and the crimes he is accused of committing. Since then Fury announced he would no longer work with Kinahan. MTK also announced that Kinahan was stepping away from the sport.