Reported by: John Mooney, Crime and Security Correspondent, The Sunday Times

A high-profile financier based in Dubai is suspected of laundering part of the Kinahan cartel’s €1 billion fortune through the British and American film industries.

An international police investigation into the crime gang’s financial structure has uncovered a network of professionals in Dubai, London, Hong Kong and Bangkok who are suspected of laundering the gang’s vast wealth.

Among them is an expatriate based in Dubai who controls a wealth management fund worth more than €100 million that is used to fund the development of entertainment industry projects. The security services believe the Kinahan cartel is the real beneficial owner of the fund.

The projects allegedly developed with the help of cartel financing focus on pop culture, youth, dance and music. According to promotional materials they involve companies based in Dubai, the UK and America.

The suspect financier has previously worked in technology.

“The Kinahans panicked and made mistakes last year,” one security source said. “They were forced to transfer money to people they didn’t really know, which led to multiple investigation opportunities.

“In time, they will come to learn they made terrible mistakes.”

The inquiry has established that the cartel’s laundering operations are overseen by a network of “professional enablers” around the world. Such enablers include accountants, solicitors and employees in financial services companies who use their expertise to help launder money.

They are said to communicate directly with Christy Kinahan Sr and his sons Daniel and Christopher through third parties, although some face-to-face meetings were held until last year.

A European national who lives in Bangkok has been identified as one of the Kinahans’ “bagmen”. He has been implicated in attempts to transfer €226 million held on deposit in a Hong Kong bank, according to sources interviewed by The Sunday Times.

This man has been allegedly involved in disposing of properties owned by the gang in Thailand, where second-tier members of the cartel live. The funds are being administered by a lawyer in Hong Kong who has tried to transfer money in small amounts into investment funds in global tax havens. These include the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin islands and the Isle of Man.

“Professional enablers” are said to communicate directly with Christy Kinahan Sr through third parties, although some face-to-face meetings were held until last year

Read full report: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/part-of-kinahan-cartels-1-billion-fortune-laundered-through-british-and-american-film-industries-jrnnmqs5x