The US Government has offered a $5 million (£3.8m) reward for information leading to the arrest of the alleged cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, who advises Tyson Fury and has become one of the most influential figures in boxing.
In a major escalation that ought to send a shockwave through the sport, the US Treasury announced sanctions against seven members of the Kinahan organised crime group on the grounds of international drug smuggling and money laundering.
The US Treasury, who said in a statement that he is “believed to run the day-to-day operations of the organisation”, directly named Dubai-based Kinahan.
Kinahan was pictured recently with Fury, who defends his WBC heavyweight world title against Dillian Whyte at Wembley on April 23.
Fury, along with multiple figures in boxing, including flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards, has previously gone to great lengths to sing the praises of a figure who has also been named in the Irish High Court as the controller and manager of the gang.
The involvement of the US authorities will bring immense scrutiny to the sport, which has long stood accused of turning a blind eye to serious accusations around Kinahan.
Just last month, the president of the World Boxing Council organisation, Mauricio Sulaiman, declared his “full support” for Kinahan, who was one of the co-founders of the vast MTK management group, though he claims he left them in 2017.
He has since operated as an “advisor” to many of the biggest names in the sport, including Fury and Billy Joe Saunders.
Fury, who will face renewed questions about his relationship to Kinahan ahead of the fight with Whyte, paid a gushing tribute to the Irishman last year for his role in attempting to broker a showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Gregory Gatjanis from the US Treasury said: “Today, the Kinahans join the ranks of the Camorra [Italian mafia organisation] and Japan’s yakuza.”
A treasury statement added: “The KOCG, which operates in Ireland and is also established in the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates, was designated as a significant transnational criminal organization. The KOCG emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s as the most powerful organised crime group operating in Ireland.”