What is the Kinahan cartel, and why has its name surfaced in Cyprus?

World Crimedrugsirelandpolice What is the Kinahan cartel, and why has its name surfaced in Cyprus? Christy Kinahan Snr Relevant News What is the Kinahan cartel, and why has its name surfaced in Cyprus? 9 September 2026 ICPAC: Prospects of the accounting profession at the centre of workshop at CUT 9 September 2026 Not even a tent, soon enough 9 September 2026 newsroom 9 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The Kinahan name has entered the Cyprus crime story through an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving eight suspects from Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Irish security sources believe the proposed killing of two British twin brothers was ultimately commissioned by veteran criminals with close links to the Kinahan cartel, according to a joint investigation by The Irish Times, the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network, Norway’s VG and Sweden’s SVT. That distinction matters. The investigation has not established that the Kinahan leadership directly ordered the alleged attack. None of the eight people arrested in Cyprus had been charged as of 8 September, and the motive for targeting the twins has not been disclosed. Why the Kinahan name has surfaced in Cyprus The alleged plot began with a message on the encrypted Signal app seeking someone to carry out a killing somewhere in the European Union. Danish police, who were monitoring the group as part of an investigation into criminal networks offering violence for hire, had an undercover officer pose as a contract killer. The officer was subsequently directed to Cyprus and allegedly given the names or images of two British twins as his targets. Cypriot police placed several suspects under surveillance and eventually arrested an Irish national, two Norwegians and five Swedes. According to the joint investigation, Irish security sources believe criminals closely connected to the Kinahan organisation were behind the proposed killings. They are suspected of working through smaller Irish and Swedish networks, allowing those higher up the chain to distance themselves from the people recruited to carry out the attack. This alleged use of intermediaries is one reason the Kinahan name has appeared in the case, even though no public evidence has directly connected the organisation’s senior figures to the Cyprus operation. From a Dublin gang to a transnational network The organisation is officially referred to by US authorities as the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, although it is commonly known as the Kinahan cartel. According to the US Treasury Department, the group emerged in Dublin during the late 1990s and early 2000s before expanding into an international network involved in cocaine trafficking, money laundering, firearms and violence. US authorities say it has operated in Ireland and established a presence in Britain, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. Dubai became particularly important as a base for senior figures and as a hub for the group’s international activities. The organisation has also been linked to a violent feud with the rival Hutch group. The conflict intensified after an armed attack at a boxing weigh-in at Dublin’s Regency Hotel in February 2016 and led to a series of retaliatory killings in Ireland and Spain. Irish courts have described the Kinahan organisation as a murderous criminal group involved in international drug and weapons trafficking. A family-led organisation At the centre of the group are Christopher Vincent Kinahan Sr, widely known as Christy Kinahan, and his sons Daniel and Christopher Jr. The US Treasury describes Christy Kinahan as the organisation’s founder. It says Daniel Kinahan managed its day-to-day operations and played a central role in sourcing cocaine from South America, while Christopher Jr helped arrange the transport and sale of drugs. Daniel Kinahan also developed a public profile in professional boxing. He co-founded the company that later became MTK Global and advised several prominent fighters. The company announced that it would cease operations shortly after US sanctions were imposed in 2022. The wider organisation extends beyond the three family members. Authorities have identified senior lieutenants, drug traffickers, money launderers and business associates who allegedly helped move narcotics, cash and other assets across borders. Sanctions, extraditions and prison sentences In April 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on the Kinahan organisation, seven of its alleged senior members and three associated companies. The measures froze any assets under US jurisdiction and generally barred American citizens and companies from conducting business with them. Washington also offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Christy Kinahan, Daniel Kinahan and Christopher Kinahan Jr. Daniel Kinahan was arrested in Dubai in April 2026 and extradited to Ireland on 9 August. He has been charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 2015 and April 2017 and remanded in custody pending further court proceedings. The charge remains an allegation and has not resulted in a conviction. Several other senior figures have already received lengthy prison sentences. Thomas Kavanagh, described by Britain’s National Crime Agency as the head of the organisation’s operations in Britain, was sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2022 after admitting drug-importation and money-laundering offences. Sean McGovern, identified by US authorities as one of Daniel Kinahan’s senior lieutenants, was sentenced to 24 years in Ireland in June 2026 after pleading guilty to directing criminal activity connected to a murder and a separate attempted killing. He had been extradited from the UAE the previous year. Irish police have previously estimated the organisation’s wealth at about €1 billion. Authorities in Ireland, the UAE, Britain, Spain, Australia and the United States are now involved in a wider investigation into its finances. The UAE has said it has frozen almost €200 million in assets allegedly linked to the network, according to The Irish Times. How violence became a service The Cyprus investigation also reflects a broader change in European organised crime: established groups increasingly outsource attacks to people recruited through smaller networks or encrypted online platforms. Europol describes this as violence as a service. Its research into Europe’s most threatening criminal networks found that some groups hire outsiders to carry out assaults, intimidation and contract killings, helping senior members reduce their direct exposure to law enforcement. Vulnerable young people and minors are also increasingly recruited for violent offences. In 2025, Europol established Operational Taskforce GRIMM to tackle networks recruiting people to carry out violence on behalf of organised crime groups. Sources cited in the joint Cyprus investigation said the Kinahan organisation had developed relationships with lower-tier groups, including Sweden’s Foxtrot network and members of Ireland’s McCarthy-Dundon gang. These groups can allegedly provide people for dangerous assignments while insulating more senior criminals from arrest. The Irish suspect arrested in Cyprus has family connections to the McCarthy-Dundon gang, according to the investigation. Swedish police have confirmed more generally that criminal networks in Sweden cooperate with other organised crime groups across Europe, but have not publicly confirmed a Kinahan role in the alleged Cyprus plot. What the Cyprus connection does — and does not — establish The information made public so far does not show that the Kinahan organisation has established a permanent base in Cyprus. Nor does it prove that Christy Kinahan, Daniel Kinahan, Christopher Kinahan Jr or any other senior figure ordered the alleged killings. What it does show is how an alleged murder plot can span several countries. The proposed victims were British, the suspected intermediaries came from Ireland, Norway and Sweden, a Danish undercover officer posed as the killer, and Cyprus was chosen as the location for the attack. As of 8 September, none of the eight suspects had been charged, the whereabouts of the British twins remained unknown and no motive for the alleged plot had been disclosed. 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