US imposes sanctions on seven senior Kinahan gang members
Treasury File Picture Kinahan Individuals Named Sanctions Is Us Daniel The Among The In Department's
The United States Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on seven senior members of the Kinahan organised crime group as part of a targeted bid to "block property of transnational criminal organisations".
Among those sanctioned by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are Christy Kinahan Snr, Daniel Kinahan, and Christy Kinahan Jnr.
“The Kinahan Organized Crime Group smuggles deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe, and is a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering,” said US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.
“Criminal groups like the KOCG prey on the most vulnerable in society and bring drug-related crime and violence, including murder, to the countries in which they operate.
"Treasury is proud to have coordinated so closely with our international counterparts, and the US government will continue to use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks.”
In short, OFAC's sanctions mean the Kinahan gang has been deemed a threat to US national security.
The sanctions mean that the gang and its associated businesses in the UK, the UAE and elsewhere cannot do business with US banks and financial institutions.
"As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals or entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC," OFAC said it a statement.
"OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by US persons or persons within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons."
In its statement on the sanctions, OFAC describes the Kinahan Organised Crime Gang (KOCG) as having emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It says the group is now the "most powerful organised crime group operating in Ireland."
It also says the group is "established" in the UK, Spain, and the UAE.
"Irish courts have concluded that the KOCG is a murderous organisation involved in the international trafficking of drugs and firearms," it said.
OFAC says the criminal activities of the KOCG, including international money laundering, "generate proceeds in the United Kingdom, which are then pooled together and passed to local criminals before being handed to Irish organised crime group members and laundered out of the United Kingdom."
It said the KOCG also frequently uses Dubai as a facilitation hub for its illicit activities.
OFAC also noted the Kinahan's involvement in a gang war with another group, resulting in "numerous murders, including two of innocent bystanders."
The sanctions, OFAC says, are the result of close collaboration between it, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the US Department of State, US Customs and Border Protection, An Garda Síochána, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation.
It is believed today's actions are the culmination of more than three years of work by the law enforcement agencies involved.