This article is the result of a collaboration with The Sunday Times. You can find their corresponding piece here.
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Christy Kinahan, the Irish founder of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group who is being pursued by authorities around the world from his bolthole in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has had his residence permit cancelled.
The visa was cancelled at the end of last month, just weeks after the extradition of his eldest son Daniel Kinahan from Dubai to Ireland, where he is charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation.
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It follows a review of public immigration records by Bellingcat and The Sunday Times, published in August, which revealed that Christopher Kinahan Jr, another of Christy Kinahan’s sons, was recently issued with a new two-year visa in the UAE.
This is despite his status as a sanctioned individual who, like his father and older brother, is the subject of a $5 million reward from the US government for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
Last month, we also exposed the residence statuses of the crime gang’s other sanctioned leaders who remain at large in Dubai. These include cartel lieutenant Bernard Clancy, whose residence permit was renewed in January, as well as padel poster boy Ian Dixon and Christy Kinahan, who have been living in Dubai on expired permits.
The cartel members had all obtained employment-based residence visas sponsored by Dubai companies, which are required to apply for employee work permits through the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization.
Christy Kinahan’s most recent visa listed his employer as OSA Management Consultancies DWC LLC, which is based at the same Dubai address as cartel-linked firm CV Aviation Consulting Services DWC LLC. The visa expired on April 1.
A new search of Emirate government portals shows the visa was subsequently cancelled on August 31.
According to information published by a UAE government-authorized service provider, visa cancellation applies to people who leave the country permanently, alter their visa category or change employer. For employment-based residence visas, the cancellation process must be initiated by the employer or an authorised representative.
In the case of Kinahan’s visa, the specific reason for the cancellation is unknown. However, his last date for leaving the country is listed as September 29 in the government immigration file. This is in line with the 30-day grace period granted to holders of standard employment visas after cancellation.
The Sunday Times reports today that Europe’s intelligence services believe Kinahan is still in Dubai, though rumours that he has moved to Africa have sparked speculation he has already fled the Gulf. It also reports that the cartel leader has moved assets out of the Emirates as the crime group breaks into rival factions.
The Kinahan Organised Crime Group is a $1.5 billion transnational network involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and arms smuggling. Investigators have connected it to Iran’s intelligence services and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.
The UAE foreign ministry has been contacted for comment.
Connor Plunkett, Peter Barth, Beau Donelly and John Mooney contributed to this article.
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