Northern Ireland

Michael Conlan denies link to Kinahan firm

Boxer Michael Conlan
Boxer Michael Conlan Boxer Michael Conlan

GARDA Commissioner Drew Harris has urged sports people with connections to a management company linked to Daniel Kinahan to consider their reputation.

Mr Harris was speaking after US authorities offered $5 million for information about the Kinahan crime gang that leads to the arrest and conviction of its leaders.

The US government department has also imposed sanctions against seven senior members of the gang in an attempt to target their financial operations.

Some of the biggest names in Irish boxing have connections to MTK Global management. The event promotions company was co-founded by Daniel Kinahan, but has denied he oversees its operations.

Mr Harris, who is a former senior PSNI officer, said sports people need to examine their role.

“In respect of individuals and very prominent sporting individuals who are obviously in some way connected with this grouping, I would say you need to look to your sport, you need to look to your fans and you need to think of your own reputation,” he said.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris Garda Commissioner Drew Harris

MTK (Mack The Knife) Global is named after former boxer Matthew ‘Mack the Knife’ Macklin and is based in Marbella in Spain.

Kinahan has been named in the Irish courts as the head of one of Europe’s most prominent drug cartels.

Suspected drugs lord Daniel Kinahan
Suspected drugs lord Daniel Kinahan Suspected drugs lord Daniel Kinahan

Since its foundation in 2012 MTK Global has been linked to some of the world’s best known fighters including two-time world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Closer to home MTK has also linked up with a host of local fighters including former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton.

In 2017 MTK Global announced that north Belfast native Frampton, who is now retired, was working alongside the company “in an advisory role”.

Other local boxers linked with MTK Global include former Olympic bronze medal winner Michael Conlan.

The Belfast man was beaten by England’s Leigh Wood last month in a bout for the world featherweight title.

Conlan is currently listed on the MTK Global website as one of its boxers.

However, a spokeswoman last night said Mr Conlan is managed by his brother Jamie.

“Michael isn’t with MTK, he’s managed by Jamie and has been from last year as part of their own independent management and promotional company, Conlan Boxing,” she said.

The spokeswoman said that a high-profile fight involving Mr Conlan during Féile an Phobail in west Belfast last year was the company’s first event.

Jamie Conlan, a former boxer himself, was appointed as an MTK Global Vice-President in 2020.

MTK Global has in the past hosted fight nights, which have included double bronze-winning Olympic fighter Paddy Barnes.

North Belfast man Barnes retired from boxing in 2019.

Last year a BBC Panorama team was threatened after a programme investigated the role of Kinahan in the world of boxing.

At the time the PSNI warned of an unspecified threat from unnamed criminal elements.