Mob boss Daniel Kinahan is set for a major financial defeat as a US Court has ruled that a civil case against him can now go ahead without any defence.
The Irish Mirror has learned that the US District Court of California has now accepted a default in the case against Kinahan and former boxing firm MTK Global - meaning it can go ahead without him, and an imminent judgement against him is expected.
Top lawyer Eric Montalvo is suing former boxing firm MTK Global and Kinahan on behalf of promoter Moses Heredia, who is seeking damages of up to $20 million for the alleged poaching of boxer JoJo Diaz.
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As part of that action Mr Montalvo has repeatedly attempted to serve Kinahan and MTK with notice of the case for several months - including taking the matter all the way to a court in Dubai.
However after Kinahan, who is in a world of trouble with major sanctions in the UAE and US, repeatedly failed to acknowledge the case, Mr Montalvo sought for a default judgement.
Now, in a significant development, that default has been accepted - meaning neither Kinahan nor MTK Global is able to represent themselves in the case.
A court clerk this week decided that a default should be accepted after MTK and Kinahan both "failed to plead" despite being served with notice earlier this year.
A default judgement in US civil cases generally goes in favour of the person taking the case - meaning Heredia is likely to win a sizeable sum of money in damages against Kinahan and MTK.
Heredia has already indicated that he intends to give a portion of that money to the families of innocent victims of the Kinahan cartel.
His lawyer Mr Montalvo believes that assets seized by the US government could be used to pay him.
Kinahan, who was hit with massive sanctions by the United States government in April last year, hasn’t been seen in public since that time.
Speaking to The Irish Mirror recently, Mr Montalvo said he is now more confident than ever that the case will go his way - as he says sanctions imposed upon the Kinahans by the US Treasury Department last year effectively means they cannot launch any legal defence.
"Yes I’m confident because the United States government has made a determination that money laundering has occurred and some assets have been seized.
"So we are effectively victims of crime. Therefore I feel very optimistic that we will achieve a settlement that addresses the harm."
In April 2022 the US government imposed crippling sanctions on Kinahan and issued a $15M reward for information that could lead to his prosecution.
As a result of those sanctions US assets considered to be connected to Kinahan were seized - and Mr Montalvo now believes they can be used to pay his client.
"The assets appear to be available so yes I feel there is a high degree of certainty we will be able to, if we obtain a judgement amount, that we will be able to collect on that judgement amount.
"For the purposes of civil litigation I don’t actually need to physically get to him (Daniel Kinahan), I just need to get to the amount of money."
The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is leading the massive transnational investigation into Kinahan, who is still believed to be holed up in Dubai.
Almost a year on since the investigation was announced, Mr Montalvo believes the DEA will soon have Kinahan in custody.
"So as far as the DEA is concerned, I obviously as a former prosecutor am very confident of the capability of our law enforcement here in the US.
"I’m very familiar with the process, capability and the cooperation that is entered into various governments because you know the DEA can't do anything on their own; what they have to do is rely upon their partners in other jurisdictions to help facilitate things.
"So that cooperative structure is very powerful. Our law enforcement all over the planet is connected right now.
"So I do believe if their true goal is to gain custody of him then I do believe it will be achieved."
In the past year notorious figures such as Italian mob boss Raffaele Imperiale were lifted in Dubai - part of a massive international effort to crack down on a so-called ‘super cartel’ operating across Europe.
Mr Montalvo believes that Kinahan sits at the top of the list of targets in this huge investigation - and that his days of freedom are now numbered.
The US Treasury Department has officially designated the Kinahan mob as a "transnational criminal organisation" which it said was dealing in narcotics, money laundering, firearms trafficking and murder.
Anyone with information on the Kinahans has been asked to contact the DEA.
Recently-released DEA documents described the ‘super drugs cartel’ as one of the world’s 50 largest drug cartels, with a virtual monopoly of the Peruvian cocaine trade.
The documents said the ‘super drugs cartel’ controlled around a third of the cocaine trade into Europe – with the main point of access through Dutch ports.
Following the US sanctions the UAE also imposed heavy penalties on the Kinahans - freezing assets and bank accounts associated with them.
Despite the sanctions, sources believe Kinahan is still located in Dubai, where he appears to be putting on a brave face among loyalists.
Sources say the mobster is frequently seen in the Palm area of Dubai and brazenly believes he will escape prosecution.
Kinahan is also wanted for questioning by gardai in connection with multiple murders associated with the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
The feud claimed 18 lives after erupting with the murder of Gary Hutch in Spain in September 2015.
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