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Hot Money podcast. How western governments took down Europe’s most powerful crime group
Miles Johnson
Previously on Hot Money. The pressure on Daniel Kinahan is rising. His partners in the Dubai super cartel are starting to fall. And police around the world are working on a secret plan to take him down for good.
Previously on Hot Money. The pressure on Daniel Kinahan is rising. His partners in the Dubai super cartel are starting to fall. And police around the world are working on a secret plan to take him down for good.
It’s the morning of April 12th, 2022 and reporters and TV crews arrive at a press conference in Dublin that’s been called by the Irish police. Officially, there’ll be an update on how law enforcement agencies are working together to collaborate against international organised crime. But it’s a bit vague, perhaps suspiciously vague, and journalists are starting to speculate about what this press conference is really about.
Behind the scenes, John O’Driscoll, is getting nervous. John’s the assistant commissioner in charge of serious organised crime. Ever since his meeting with US officials three years before he’s been working on a single objective. And the press conference this morning in Dublin is going to be the moment he finally gets to announce it to the world.
But John knows that if word gets out, it could all fall apart. He’s chosen the venue carefully.
John O’Driscoll
I said that beyond any doubt it was not going to take place in those rooms that we may have had press conferences relating to the Kinahans previously.
I said that beyond any doubt it was not going to take place in those rooms that we may have had press conferences relating to the Kinahans previously.
Miles Johnson
Instead it would take place in Dublin’s city hall. It’s the right sort of setting for a historic announcement, marble floors, huge classical pillars and statues on ancient Roman-style plinths.
Instead it would take place in Dublin’s city hall. It’s the right sort of setting for a historic announcement, marble floors, huge classical pillars and statues on ancient Roman-style plinths.
John O’Driscoll
The holding of the event in city hall was important, first of all, because it is that wonderful building that it is, but also it is situated in south inner city, Dublin, which is where the Kinahan organisation emerged from.
The holding of the event in city hall was important, first of all, because it is that wonderful building that it is, but also it is situated in south inner city, Dublin, which is where the Kinahan organisation emerged from.
Miles Johnson
Quietly, senior officials from various foreign police forces have been flying into Dublin. People from the US Treasury, DEA, and Customs and Border Protection. Officials from Europol, and the UK’s national crime agency, including deputy director of investigations, Matt Horne.
Quietly, senior officials from various foreign police forces have been flying into Dublin. People from the US Treasury, DEA, and Customs and Border Protection. Officials from Europol, and the UK’s national crime agency, including deputy director of investigations, Matt Horne.
Matt Horne
We’d arrived the day before from the UK, and had been extremely well looked after by the Garda from the airport. And you know, they were keeping a very close eye on us to make sure that all the, all of us representatives of the international law enforcement community were sort of well looked after and well protected.
We’d arrived the day before from the UK, and had been extremely well looked after by the Garda from the airport. And you know, they were keeping a very close eye on us to make sure that all the, all of us representatives of the international law enforcement community were sort of well looked after and well protected.
Miles Johnson
And despite all these high profile police officers arriving in Dublin at exactly the same time, John’s been able to kept things under wraps. Everyone is now seated. The hall falls quiet in anticipation. And John walks out onto the stage. Within minutes the Kinahans will become some of the most wanted men on the planet.
And despite all these high profile police officers arriving in Dublin at exactly the same time, John’s been able to kept things under wraps. Everyone is now seated. The hall falls quiet in anticipation. And John walks out onto the stage. Within minutes the Kinahans will become some of the most wanted men on the planet.
I’m Miles Johnson, and from the Financial Times and Pushkin Industries this is Hot Money: The New Narcos. Episode 8: The Red Notebook.
Back when I started at the FT as a trainee reporter 15 years ago, I never expected I’d end up writing about organised crime. We covered things like the stock market, and mergers and acquisitions. There was this very clear boundary back then between the world we wrote about, the world of business, CEOs, and politicians and the underworld. But something’s changed since then. The line between criminal activity and state backed enterprise, between big business and gangsters, it’s become fuzzier.
We live in a time where some heads of state increasingly act like crime bosses, and the crime bosses, they act like the heads of multinational companies. It could be a world leader investing billions into startups and tech companies, but at the same time ordering the murder of dissidents abroad. It could be North Korean state hackers stealing bitcoins to fund missile programmes, or Kremlin-backed tycoons using mercenary armies to mine for gold in Africa. Or it could be a cocaine cartel, hiding out in Dubai while carrying out contract killings in Europe for a sanctioned regime.
It’s all part of the rise of a new type of criminal boss, one backed by authoritarian governments. I call them state-backed gangsters. And they’re thriving at a time when the world is becoming more fragmented, and more chaotic.
Reporting on the Dubai super cartel, I’ve discovered that European drug traffickers have been taking advantage of the same money laundering channels that Iran uses to evade western sanctions. That seems to be the reason why international criminals have become unlikely bedfellows with a theocratic regime.
That press conference that John’s arranged, he knows it could be the beginning of the end for the super cartel. But before we get to that, I want to take a little detour.
Because there’s an important question from the start of this series that we still don’t have an answer to. The murder broker was convicted for arranging the assassination of Ali Motamed, the electrician who was on the run from Iran.
But no one has ever been able to find out who in Iran gave the murder broker his orders. And during the reporting of this series, I came across something that might help us get one step closer. It was a case that revealed a tonne of new information about the way that Iran secretly pursues its enemies in Europe, people like Ali Motamed.
And there’s someone I want to talk to because he was directly involved in that case. Someone who has first hand experience of the long history of violence against enemies of the Iranian regime, wherever they are in the world.
Hossein Abedini was born in Iran, but he now lives in London. He’s in his late 50s and he’s quietly spoken, but he’s been fighting for most of his life.
Hossein Abedini
I have been with the resistance over three decades now, nearly four decades.
I have been with the resistance over three decades now, nearly four decades.
Miles Johnson
In the Spring of 1990, Hossein was a young activist. And he was in Turkey. He says he traveled there to try and stop the deportation of Iranian refugees who’d crossed the border illegally. One day In Istanbul, he’s in a car with two colleagues. They’re on the motorway when suddenly something blocks the road ahead. The traffic slows down. Hossein is up front, sitting next to the driver.
In the Spring of 1990, Hossein was a young activist. And he was in Turkey. He says he traveled there to try and stop the deportation of Iranian refugees who’d crossed the border illegally. One day In Istanbul, he’s in a car with two colleagues. They’re on the motorway when suddenly something blocks the road ahead. The traffic slows down. Hossein is up front, sitting next to the driver.
Hossein Abedini
And all of a sudden, we heard, you know, the sound of bullets. They riddled our car from the back.
And all of a sudden, we heard, you know, the sound of bullets. They riddled our car from the back.
Miles Johnson
Hossein barely has time to take in that someone is shooting at them, when a car smashes into the front of their vehicle. They can’t drive away.
Hossein barely has time to take in that someone is shooting at them, when a car smashes into the front of their vehicle. They can’t drive away.
Hossein Abedini
And another car pinned us from behind. It was then which I realized, you know, this was a, this was an assassination or kidnapping.
And another car pinned us from behind. It was then which I realized, you know, this was a, this was an assassination or kidnapping.
Miles Johnson
A man jumps out of the vehicle in front, the one that’s just plowed into their car. He’s holding a revolver.
A man jumps out of the vehicle in front, the one that’s just plowed into their car. He’s holding a revolver.
Hossein Abedini
And it was only, I think, a couple of meters before he reached our car. I tried to do something. There was a briefcase belonging to my female colleague who was sitting the back of the car, so I just took that, opened the door, and went to stop him.
And it was only, I think, a couple of meters before he reached our car. I tried to do something. There was a briefcase belonging to my female colleague who was sitting the back of the car, so I just took that, opened the door, and went to stop him.
Miles Johnson
He’s clutching the briefcase like a shield as the man starts shooting.
He’s clutching the briefcase like a shield as the man starts shooting.
Hossein Abedini
The first bullet hit my chest, and uh, I didn’t know how many bullets, you know, I received then. And, uh I just, fell down, fell down in the street.
The first bullet hit my chest, and uh, I didn’t know how many bullets, you know, I received then. And, uh I just, fell down, fell down in the street.
Miles Johnson
Hossein’s lying on the ground, bleeding and he can see the man walk up to him. He’s preparing to take a final shot. But nothing happens.
Hossein’s lying on the ground, bleeding and he can see the man walk up to him. He’s preparing to take a final shot. But nothing happens.
Hossein Abedini
The bullet jammed in the muzzle of the gun.
The bullet jammed in the muzzle of the gun.
Miles Johnson
That’s Hossein’s first lucky break.
That’s Hossein’s first lucky break.
The traffic starts to move again and the assassins take off. Hossein desperately needs to get to the hospital, but the car he was in is smashed up and everyone else on the motorway, they seem to be trying to run away as quickly as they can.
Hossein Abedini
I remember very vaguely that my colleague threw herself, you know, in front of one of the cars. And, there was a taxi which stopped. And I was put at the back of the taxi. And I, I just got unconscious. The hospital was only three minutes away. If it was farther than that, I wouldn’t make it.
I remember very vaguely that my colleague threw herself, you know, in front of one of the cars. And, there was a taxi which stopped. And I was put at the back of the taxi. And I, I just got unconscious. The hospital was only three minutes away. If it was farther than that, I wouldn’t make it.
Miles Johnson
Hossein fell into a coma. It would be 50 days before he woke up. He was told that one bullet had passed very close to his heart and another had destroyed his liver. But even at the hospital, he’s not safe. The killers, they come back, and this time they’re posing as his friends
Hossein fell into a coma. It would be 50 days before he woke up. He was told that one bullet had passed very close to his heart and another had destroyed his liver. But even at the hospital, he’s not safe. The killers, they come back, and this time they’re posing as his friends
Hossein Abedini
But my true friends arrived and they were told, you know, that there are other people who wanted to come and see me. And then those people escaped from the scene when they realised, you know, there were people, my true friends, you know, were there.
But my true friends arrived and they were told, you know, that there are other people who wanted to come and see me. And then those people escaped from the scene when they realised, you know, there were people, my true friends, you know, were there.
Miles Johnson
That’s Hossein’s second stroke of luck.
That’s Hossein’s second stroke of luck.
And there will be a third one as well, when the killers call up, pretending to be the police. They tell the hospital staff that they know Hossein is now conscious, and they want to interview him about what happened.
Hossein Abedini
But the president of Turkey in those days was Turgut Özal and his mother, you know, was in the same hospital. The president wanted to come and visit his mother and they sealed off the whole area, the hospital. And they realised there was another branch of police who wanted to come and see me. And they found out that was a bogus call, it was the Iranian regime who wanted to get rid of me because they didn’t want me to speak. That was very pure luck.
But the president of Turkey in those days was Turgut Özal and his mother, you know, was in the same hospital. The president wanted to come and visit his mother and they sealed off the whole area, the hospital. And they realised there was another branch of police who wanted to come and see me. And they found out that was a bogus call, it was the Iranian regime who wanted to get rid of me because they didn’t want me to speak. That was very pure luck.
Miles Johnson
That was more than 30 years ago. Hossein tells me that he’s still affected every day by the damage done to his liver in that attack. But he’s one of the rare survivors of an assassination attempt by the Iranian regime. Several of his friends and colleagues have been murdered since then.
That was more than 30 years ago. Hossein tells me that he’s still affected every day by the damage done to his liver in that attack. But he’s one of the rare survivors of an assassination attempt by the Iranian regime. Several of his friends and colleagues have been murdered since then.
Today Hossein is a senior member of Iran’s main foreign opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran or the NCRI.
Hossein Abedini
So the main objective of the National Council of Resistance of Iran is to establish a democratic and a secular government in Iran. Its main principle, of course, has been against any dictatorship, whether it’s the former dictatorship of the Shah or the present medieval dictatorship of the mullahs.
So the main objective of the National Council of Resistance of Iran is to establish a democratic and a secular government in Iran. Its main principle, of course, has been against any dictatorship, whether it’s the former dictatorship of the Shah or the present medieval dictatorship of the mullahs.
Miles Johnson
The NCRI, its an umbrella organisation and one of the largest groups within it is called the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, known by its Farsi initials, MEK.
The NCRI, its an umbrella organisation and one of the largest groups within it is called the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, known by its Farsi initials, MEK.
Now the MEK, it hasn’t always had the west’s approval. It was implicated in several terrorist attacks against Iran, including the 1981 bombing that Tehran claimed was carried out by Ali Motamed, the quiet electrician in the Netherlands. From 1997 to 2012 the MEK was designated as a terror organisation by the US government. But over the past decade it’s refashioned itself. And now it’s a pretty influential opposition voice on Iran. But for all its acceptance by western powers, the NCRI remains a top target of the Iranian regime.
In June 2018, Hossein and his colleagues are in Paris. They’re holding a huge meeting, a rally called the Free Iran World Summit.
Hossein Abedini
Tens of thousands of Iranians with many non Iranian supporters of the resistance who came from 67 different countries throughout the world.
Tens of thousands of Iranians with many non Iranian supporters of the resistance who came from 67 different countries throughout the world.
Miles Johnson
Dozens of foreign politicians are invited as well, and everyone convenes in a vast conference centre. It’s only afterwards that Hossein finds out what very nearly happened.
Dozens of foreign politicians are invited as well, and everyone convenes in a vast conference centre. It’s only afterwards that Hossein finds out what very nearly happened.
Hossein Abedini
I think it was on the 1st of July, the next day, I was told by a friend that the Belgian federal police, you know, they had arrested two Iranians who were trying, you know, to bring a bomb.
I think it was on the 1st of July, the next day, I was told by a friend that the Belgian federal police, you know, they had arrested two Iranians who were trying, you know, to bring a bomb.
Miles Johnson
Belgian police had arrested two Iranians who were on their way to the Paris conference centre with a bomb. It’s another lucky escape for Hossein and hundreds of other people. And as police investigate the failed bomb plot, they’re going to discover something that I believe could shed new light on the murder of Ali Motamed. It’s the most important discovery in decades about how Iran targets its enemies abroad. And this time, the clues aren’t just glimpses, hints, or encrypted messages. They are in a battered red notebook filled with handwritten notes, sitting in the back of a car.
Belgian police had arrested two Iranians who were on their way to the Paris conference centre with a bomb. It’s another lucky escape for Hossein and hundreds of other people. And as police investigate the failed bomb plot, they’re going to discover something that I believe could shed new light on the murder of Ali Motamed. It’s the most important discovery in decades about how Iran targets its enemies abroad. And this time, the clues aren’t just glimpses, hints, or encrypted messages. They are in a battered red notebook filled with handwritten notes, sitting in the back of a car.
So Hossein and his colleagues, they discover that someone had tried to plant a bomb at the rally in Paris. And at the same time, police in Germany arrest an Iranian man on a highway in Bavaria.
His name is Assadollah Assadi, and officially, he’s the third counsellor of the Iranian embassy in Vienna. He arrived in Europe in 2014. But in reality, he’s a top spy for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. It’s Iran’s equivalent of the CIA or MI6. Assadi is running a network of agents across Europe, meeting them in cafes in small medieval towns handing over secret instructions or bundles of cash. And months before the Paris rally he traveled to Tehran, returning to Europe with a sophisticated bomb hidden in his diplomatic luggage.
The bomb’s made from an explosive known as TATP or “Mother of Satan”. It’s extremely volatile.
Assadi carries it on to Luxembourg and hands it over to his agents. And this part of the story, it’s a bit less like a Le Carré novel, because the venue he chooses, it’s a Pizza Hut.
He gives them the bomb, with instructions for planting it at the Paris rally. And the codeword he uses is “playstation”. But what Assadi doesn’t know, is that European intelligence agencies have been watching his every move, and know exactly what he’s been planning. They even disabled the airport security scanner so he could get through. The two agents are arrested as they travel from Brussels to Paris.
Assadi is pulled over by the police on a motorway in Germany. And in the back of his car, they find the battered red notebook filled with handwritten notes. Notes that reveal that Assadi was involved in way more than one bomb plot.
Assadi has listed hundreds of different meetings with agents across Europe. He’s itemised cash payments he’s made to spies, and he’s listed more than 200 places he’s visited as part of his work in 11 different countries. Because Assadi, according to the findings of a Belgian criminal court, is part of a secret unit of Iranian foreign intelligence, a sort of murder squad in Europe. It’s called Department 312. And its role is to kill opponents of the regime abroad.
There’s not much public information about Department 312. But what we do know, its pretty terrifying. It’s thought to be a top secret unit that specialises in spying on human rights activists, journalists and others who the Iranian regime believe to be a threat.
But was Ali Motamed one of their targets?
We know that Assadi arrived in his new job in June 2014. A little over a year before Ali Motamed was killed outside his house in Almere. It was the first successful targeted assassination carried out by Iran in western Europe in over 23 years. And then two years later, in 2017, while Assadi was still free, another Iranian opposition member was gunned down in the Netherlands. So we can say that Assadi arrives in Vienna in late 2014 and then suddenly Iran is linked to several assassinations in Europe.
This isn’t conclusive evidence. But according to the Belgian criminal court documents, targeting dissidents, that was Assadi’s job. So it makes sense that he would at least be a suspect in the Motamed murder.
And we also know that Assadi, he was reporting into really top people in Iran, including the deputy minister of intelligence. After his arrest for the bomb plot, Assadi is put on trial in Belgium, and he gets prison visits from some of Iran’s most senior spies, and other officials from its foreign ministry. They clearly cared a lot about this case.
The criminal case against Assadi was brought by the Belgian government, but there were also 25 others who joined as private plaintiffs. They were all at that Paris rally and Hossein was one of them, and it gave him access to all the prosecution’s evidence. He sent me the files.
This is hundreds of pages of documents, in several European languages and there’s also extracts from Assadi’s red notebook. And there’s something else, something that I think could be important. Assadi’s job meant that he had to travel a lot on work trips across Europe to meet with his various agents. And it turns out that even spies use Booking.com, the huge online travel agent, to book their hotels or at least Assadi did. And the details of all of those bookings, they’re in the files.
So I am sat here, in the offices of the Financial Times, looking at these records every hotel Assadi stayed in over his four years operating in Europe.
For some of the bookings, he used his official Iranian foreign ministry email address. For others it was burner accounts from Yahoo and Gmail. He seems to have met his agents in some pretty low-key locations. And he often seemed to book two hotels in different places for the same night, maybe thinking it would throw off anyone who was following him. And the records, they do show that he traveled to the Netherlands. On the 6th of September 2016, less than a year after Motamed was murdered, he stayed at the Best Western in The Hague for one night.
The next evening Assadi booked two hotel rooms, one in the Dutch town of Meppel, and another in Zwartsluis, both really small towns. And in April 2017, Assadi booked a room at the Savoy Amsterdam for one of his agents. So we know he was working in the Netherlands at around the same time that Ali Motamed was murdered. It’s far from a smoking gun, but it’s enough, enough for me to ask Hossein, does he think that Assadi could have been connected to the murder of Mohamed Reza Kolahi, also known as Ali Motamed? I lay out what we know.
So he arrives, Asadi arrives in Austria in 2014. And then in 2015 a man called Mohamed Reza Kalahi, who was living in a town Almere, was shot and killed outside his house.
The murder has never been solved. They know who shot him. They know who told those people to shoot him. The Dutch government then said, we believe the Iranian regime was behind this murder and they expelled two diplomats. But there’s never been any, any further information about who could have co-ordinated a plot like that.
Do you think it’s reasonable to assume that Assadi could have been behind something like that?
Hossein Abedini
Well I don’t have precise information about this case, but I think it makes sense to believe that, of course, I mean, when Assadi was the, you know, the head of this intelligence section in mainly the western Europe, I think that is, this could very well be, I mean, Assadi could very well be behind that.
Well I don’t have precise information about this case, but I think it makes sense to believe that, of course, I mean, when Assadi was the, you know, the head of this intelligence section in mainly the western Europe, I think that is, this could very well be, I mean, Assadi could very well be behind that.
Miles Johnson
So its reasonable to assume you know, that we have a spy working under diplomatic cover who is in charge of all of western Europe and his focus is effectively organising assassination attempts against opposition figures. So it’s a reasonable assumption, to think that, of the assassinations, or attempted assassinations that occurred in western Europe after 2014, he presumably would have had to have some, had a hand in it?
So its reasonable to assume you know, that we have a spy working under diplomatic cover who is in charge of all of western Europe and his focus is effectively organising assassination attempts against opposition figures. So it’s a reasonable assumption, to think that, of the assassinations, or attempted assassinations that occurred in western Europe after 2014, he presumably would have had to have some, had a hand in it?
Hossein Abedini
He’s had a hand in it. Absolutely.
He’s had a hand in it. Absolutely.
Miles Johnson
What Hossein says of course it doesn’t prove anything. But at the very least, Assadi has to be considered a suspect. There is this new wave of assassinations in Europe, all connected to the Iranian state, and they begin just after Assadi is posted to Vienna in 2014.
What Hossein says of course it doesn’t prove anything. But at the very least, Assadi has to be considered a suspect. There is this new wave of assassinations in Europe, all connected to the Iranian state, and they begin just after Assadi is posted to Vienna in 2014.
And the first, it’s the murder of an electrician in a small Dutch town a year later. Assadi’s convicted for the attempted bombing in Paris and he’s sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder and plotting a terrorist attack. Iran denies any involvement. But we’ll never know if he was involved in Ali Motamed’s death. Because after Assadi’s convicted, a Belgian aid worker is arrested in Iran on these trumped up charges of espionage and sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes.
Then, in May 2023, the Belgian government agreed to exchange Assadi for the aid worker. So Assadi, he’s now back in Iran. And, his notebook aside, he’s taken his secrets with him.
It’s the 12th of April 2022 and we’re back in Dublin’s City Hall. The entire time John O’Driscoll has been working on a plan to sanction the Kinahans, he’s been worried about it leaking. Because he knows that if the news gets out, they’ll quickly be able to hide their assets before they are frozen.
[VOICE CLIP OF DREW HARRIS]
Today is a landmark day in the fight against organised crime
Today is a landmark day in the fight against organised crime
Miles Johnson
But now the Kinahans have run out of time.
But now the Kinahans have run out of time.
[VOICE CLIP OF DREW HARRIS]
And in particular against the Kinahan organised crime gang.
And in particular against the Kinahan organised crime gang.
Miles Johnson
John’s boss Drew Harris, commissioner of the Irish police, steps up to the podium.
John’s boss Drew Harris, commissioner of the Irish police, steps up to the podium.
[VOICE CLIP OF DREW HARRIS]
This organised crime gang started life as a south inner city Dublin drug dealers but has grown over the decades to become a transnational crime cartel . . . that is estimated to have generated over €1bn for them.
This organised crime gang started life as a south inner city Dublin drug dealers but has grown over the decades to become a transnational crime cartel . . . that is estimated to have generated over €1bn for them.
Miles Johnson
Then a senior official from the US Treasury announces the news that will make headlines around the world.
Then a senior official from the US Treasury announces the news that will make headlines around the world.
[VOICE CLIP OF GREG GATJANIS]
So as of today, the Kinahan Transnational Criminal Organisation joins the ranks of Italy’s Camorra, Mexico’s Los Zetas, Japan’s Yakuza and Russia’s Thieves in Law. Also as of today as a result of these sanctions these individuals are immediately severed from the US financial system and any assets, property under US jurisdiction are immediately blocked at this moment.
So as of today, the Kinahan Transnational Criminal Organisation joins the ranks of Italy’s Camorra, Mexico’s Los Zetas, Japan’s Yakuza and Russia’s Thieves in Law. Also as of today as a result of these sanctions these individuals are immediately severed from the US financial system and any assets, property under US jurisdiction are immediately blocked at this moment.
Miles Johnson
We have to stop here for a minute just to take this all in. It’s utterly remarkable. A criminal family that began in a Dublin flat in the 1980s, is now being compared to the Yakuza and Camorra crime groups whose origins date back hundreds of years. They’ve been sanctioned by the US government, one of a handful of organised crime groups to ever face that kind of penalty. And the US also puts a $5mn bounty on the heads of Christy, Daniel and his brother Christopher Junior, calling their organisation “a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering”.
We have to stop here for a minute just to take this all in. It’s utterly remarkable. A criminal family that began in a Dublin flat in the 1980s, is now being compared to the Yakuza and Camorra crime groups whose origins date back hundreds of years. They’ve been sanctioned by the US government, one of a handful of organised crime groups to ever face that kind of penalty. And the US also puts a $5mn bounty on the heads of Christy, Daniel and his brother Christopher Junior, calling their organisation “a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering”.
Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland, he knows that the US sanctions will destroy the Kinahans’ chance of continuing their life of luxury in Dubai.
Seamus Boland
Because the dangers with sanctions is that if any legitimate business engages with somebody who’s on a sanctions list, they’re actually the people who are committing the criminal offenses and they risk all their assets being seized and they risk being prosecuted. So you know, avenues to live the high life that you would’ve had before are closed down very, very quickly.
Because the dangers with sanctions is that if any legitimate business engages with somebody who’s on a sanctions list, they’re actually the people who are committing the criminal offenses and they risk all their assets being seized and they risk being prosecuted. So you know, avenues to live the high life that you would’ve had before are closed down very, very quickly.
You know, people end up with so much money from cocaine trafficking. Behind all this, it’s all about greed. You have money to try and live in your big house, drive your fancy car. Fly business class all across the world. Stay in the best hotels. What the sanctions actually does is it removes a lot of the facilitation that would be possible for people to live their lives and to benefit from the illicit wealth that they’ve actually achieved.
Miles Johnson
Soon, the United Arab Emirates freeze Daniel’s assets too, and they impose their own sanctions on the Kinahans in Dubai, removing one of the last places on earth they can hide. The Kinahans, they go on the run.
Soon, the United Arab Emirates freeze Daniel’s assets too, and they impose their own sanctions on the Kinahans in Dubai, removing one of the last places on earth they can hide. The Kinahans, they go on the run.
Seamus Boland
Significant parties within the Kinahan organised crime group all went to ground, and have been attempting to evade justice, and hide in the shadows since that date. But from our own information and intelligence and, and conversations with other criminals as well. You know, I think this, this took it to, to a different level because the criminal underworld in Europe didn’t anticipate that sanctions was something that would happen on this side of the Atlantic.
Significant parties within the Kinahan organised crime group all went to ground, and have been attempting to evade justice, and hide in the shadows since that date. But from our own information and intelligence and, and conversations with other criminals as well. You know, I think this, this took it to, to a different level because the criminal underworld in Europe didn’t anticipate that sanctions was something that would happen on this side of the Atlantic.
Miles Johnson
But the strange thing is, it’s been more than a year since that big announcement in Dublin, and the Kinahans, they’re all still at large. It’s not clear where they are.
But the strange thing is, it’s been more than a year since that big announcement in Dublin, and the Kinahans, they’re all still at large. It’s not clear where they are.
I’ve heard multiple rumors. Some think that they are still in the UAE, living under false identities. Others think they are somewhere else in the Middle East, laying low. I’ve even heard speculation that they’re building connections with Putin’s Russia.
So I asked Seamus, why haven’t the police been able to bring them in yet?
Seamus Boland
Well, investigations are still ongoing as well at the moment. So the sanctions was only one phase of a much wider investigation that’s continuously ongoing and, and taking place. And as was announced in, in April 2022 at the designation as well, you know, extradition warrants were, were in place for one of the principals, who’s sought for, for charges in relation to murder and, and directing organized crime. And that’s still outstanding as well. But you can rest assured that investigations are continuing actively across many different jurisdictions.
Well, investigations are still ongoing as well at the moment. So the sanctions was only one phase of a much wider investigation that’s continuously ongoing and, and taking place. And as was announced in, in April 2022 at the designation as well, you know, extradition warrants were, were in place for one of the principals, who’s sought for, for charges in relation to murder and, and directing organized crime. And that’s still outstanding as well. But you can rest assured that investigations are continuing actively across many different jurisdictions.
Miles Johnson
For a few years, the men who gathered at Daniel Kinahan’s wedding in 2017 seemed almost invincible. They created a new model, stateless gangsters, using modern technology to run global mafias in ways that were impossible a few decades before.
For a few years, the men who gathered at Daniel Kinahan’s wedding in 2017 seemed almost invincible. They created a new model, stateless gangsters, using modern technology to run global mafias in ways that were impossible a few decades before.
But eventually, their reputation caught up with them. They made the mistake of becoming too public, too brazen. I began reporting on this story because I think it tells us something important about how the world is changing. And the global shifts that made the Dubai super cartel possible, they’re only accelerating.
The criminals of the future, I think they’re going to be more global, more sophisticated and more dangerous. And I think it’s going to get harder to tell if someone is a gangster, a businessman, or both.
The story of the super cartel, for me, it’s an ominous sign of these new, hybrid threats that democracies face, and of governments’ weakening ability to fight them. The sanctions against the Kinahans, they’ve been hailed as a victory, a landmark in co-ordinated action by western governments to take down a major crime group. But there’s something I’ve kept asking myself, were the sanctions a show of strength, or really just a sign of weakness?
Some of the world’s most powerful governments have teamed up to go after the Kinahans, but a year later, they are still out there. So the Dubai super cartel may be finished, but its model will live on. And perhaps, something new, and maybe worse, will take its place. In fact, somewhere out there, it probably already has.
Not long before the sanctions were announced, Rafaelle Imperiale, the Van Gogh boss, was arrested in Dubai and sent to Italy. He’s since agreed to become a state’s witness. And in November 2023 he told Italian prosecutors he would sell off his $80mn private island in Dubai, in the hope of his sentence being reduced.
MTK, the boxing company that Daniel Kinahan co-founded, it closes. And back in the Netherlands, where we began our story, Paul Vugts, the crime reporter, has been able to come out of police protection and return to his normal life.
Paul Vugts
We wanted our life back in full. So not riding an armored car, but riding a bike and sitting on a terrace.
We wanted our life back in full. So not riding an armored car, but riding a bike and sitting on a terrace.
Miles Johnson
Ulysse Ellian, the local councilor in Almere who campaigned about the Ali Motamed murder, well he’s now a national politician. In 2021 he was elected to the Dutch parliament.
Ulysse Ellian, the local councilor in Almere who campaigned about the Ali Motamed murder, well he’s now a national politician. In 2021 he was elected to the Dutch parliament.
Ulysse Ellian
Look, you know, I was like this baby when I got here, my father had like $20 in his pocket. The honor of representing the Dutch people, it’s massive for me. My goal in life is defending democracy, defending freedom. And that relates to the story of my dad and also this story, look how dangerous the world around us can be.
Look, you know, I was like this baby when I got here, my father had like $20 in his pocket. The honor of representing the Dutch people, it’s massive for me. My goal in life is defending democracy, defending freedom. And that relates to the story of my dad and also this story, look how dangerous the world around us can be.
Miles Johnson
And the Kinahans, they have to live every day knowing they are being hunted by police. For Michael O’Sullivan, the man who first arrested Christy Kinahan in a Dublin flat back in the 1980s, it’s only a matter of time.
And the Kinahans, they have to live every day knowing they are being hunted by police. For Michael O’Sullivan, the man who first arrested Christy Kinahan in a Dublin flat back in the 1980s, it’s only a matter of time.
Michael O’Sullivan
You feel like saying to them, did you not think this day would come by doing what you’re doing? Better people than them have been caught. And they have made themselves a global target. And with the DEA on your case, the world is a small place and it gets smaller.
You feel like saying to them, did you not think this day would come by doing what you’re doing? Better people than them have been caught. And they have made themselves a global target. And with the DEA on your case, the world is a small place and it gets smaller.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hot Money is a production of the Financial Times and Pushkin Industries. It was written and reported by me, Miles Johnson. And if you’ve got any leads or information about this story, you can email me at newnarcos@ft.com. The series producer is Peggy Sutton. Edith Rousselot is the associate producer. Fact checking is by Arthur Gompertz. Engineering by Sarah Brugiere. Sound design from Jake Gorski. Jeremy Warmsley wrote the original music. Our editor is Sara Nics. And the executive producers are Jacob Goldstein and Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Roula Khalaf, Laura Dubois, Peter Spiegel, Topher Forhecz, Manuela Saragosa, Breen Turner, John Schnaars, Jacob Weisberg, Alastair Mackie, Laura Clarke, Nigel Hanson, Paolo Pascual, Minnie Advincula, Dan Dombey, Tom Braithwaite, Rhonda Taylor, Matt Vella, Alex Barker, Patricia Nilsson, Matt Garrahan, Madison Marriage, Paul Murphy, Rich Ward, Arlie Adlington, Marsha Walraven, Jude Webber, Carrie Brody, Eric Sandler, Nicole Op Den Bosch, Christina Sullivan, Vicky Merrick, Jake Flanagin and Gretta Cohn.
