Although he doesn't have an account himself, Daniel Kinahan has been seen a lot on social media in recent months, posing with world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, with flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards and with German boxing promoter Ahmet Öner.

He was hailed as a “true legend of the sport” by fellow Irishman Jono Carroll and an influential advisor by MMA martial arts star Darren Till.

David Klaubert

Editor in the department "Germany and the World".

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A section of the photo with Darren Till reappeared on Tuesday: the face of Daniel Kinahan in a graphic from the US Department of the Treasury showing the structure of the "Kinahan Organized Crime Group".

The organization and seven leading members are now on the sanctions list, the US authorities said.

Their property in the United States will be confiscated and doing business with them is now banned.

The DEA is also offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Daniel Kinahan, his brother Christopher Jr. or his father Christy Kinahan.

The Irish organization, a US Treasury official said, "as of today stands on a par with Italy's Camorra, Mexico's Los Zetas,

At a joint press conference with Irish and British police and Europol in Dublin, the American authorities described the Kinahan cartel as a "murderous organization involved in the international trade in drugs and weapons".

Overall, the Kinahan criminal empire is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, it said.

In 2016, the group "started a bloody war with another criminal organization while terrorizing innocent civilians."

A representative of the Irish police spoke of a "killing campaign" launched by the leaders of the cartel.

Influential puller in the boxing business

Christy Kinahan laid the foundation for the criminal organization in Dublin in the 1980s.

He dominated the heroin trade there, which is why he was convicted, later for synthetic drugs and weapons in the Netherlands and for money laundering in Belgium.

To date, his sons have not been convicted by any court.

It has long been known that they are involved in their father's illegal business.

As early as 2009, Daniel Kinahan was described in a cable from the American embassy in Sierra Leone as a drug dealer who might want to expand his network into West Africa.

A 2018 Irish High Court ruling against members of the Kinahan cartel found that the two sons had now taken over the running of the day-to-day business.

The Kinahans have been living in Dubai for several years.

Daniel Kinahan moved there shortly after heavily armed men stormed a boxing event in Dublin in 2016 and shot dead one of his closest associates.

Investigators believe he was the target himself.

And the motive of revenge for a murder he had ordered.

You can read detailed research on Daniel Kinahan here.

Although the Irish media have been reporting all the allegations against him for many years, Daniel Kinahan has risen to become an influential mastermind of the world boxing business.

The club he founded ten years ago in Marbella, Spain, has become a successful boxing stable: MTK Global.

The management company has more than 200 professionals under contract, including numerous world champions, as well as more than 100 mixed martial arts fighters.

Kinahan has officially retired from the company and only appears as a personal advisor to a number of MTK boxers, including stars such as Tyson Fury and Billy Joe Saunders.

However, there are many indications that he is still holding the reins.

Promoters delete shared photos

Over the years, the other greats of boxing didn't seem to mind the allegations made against Kinahan by law enforcement agencies in several countries.

Bob Arum, America's most powerful promoter, said of him: "Dan's influence is enormous." He, too, works closely and enjoys working with him.

British boxing manager Eddie Hearn said: "It's very difficult to work in boxing and not be involved with it at any point." German promoter Kalle Sauerland described the allegations against Kinahan 2020 as "bullshit" and " gangster story".

"I've known Daniel for a long time," he said.

“I don't just work with him in boxing.

We're also very close outside of boxing, a very old friend."

When the American authorities announced their measures on Tuesday, the first boxers and promoters also became active.

While the press conference in Dublin was still going on, her photos with Daniel Kinahan suddenly disappeared from social media.