US Lawyer Urges Garda Investigation into Kinahan’s Business Dealings with Fighters
A US lawyer who successfully represented a boxing promoter in a civil racketeering case against Daniel Kinahan and MTK Global has called for a Garda investigation into Kinahan’s business dealings with fighters. Eric Montalvo, who represented Moses Heredia in the case, confirmed that he has been in contact with the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and has handed over information relating to MTK financial transactions.
According to reports from the Sunday World, Montalvo is urging for these transactions to be examined. “I’m calling for these transactions to be examined,” Montalvo told the Sunday World. “There are banking records that show MTK was paying hundreds of thousands of euros to fighters who had entered into zero percent contracts.”
Montalvo’s claims suggest that MTK was making significant payments to fighters while simultaneously lodging large sums into their accounts. “According to the contracts, MTK was making nothing from representing these fighters, while at the same time bank records show it lodged sums in excess of half-a-million euros to their accounts,” he said.
The Sunday World understands that Montalvo has been in contact with CAB and has provided them with information regarding MTK’s financial transactions. “I have been in contact with CAB. I was in the UK last month and I sent over a batch of information to them. It is for the law agencies to examine these transactions and see what, if anything, is there,” he said.
In September of last year, Kinahan and MTK were ordered by a Californian judge to pay damages of $9.7 million or €8.7 million to Montalvo’s client Moses Heredia. The court ruling stated that Kinahan and MTK had used cartel drug money to poach boxer Joseph Diaz from Heredia.
As part of his case, Heredia had alleged that MTK was using fighters to wash Kinahan’s drug money. An unredacted transcript from the US court case obtained by the Sunday World reveals that Montalvo submitted that fighters were given ‘zero pc’ representation by MTK. This meant that the boxing company charged these fighters nothing to represent them and took no portion of any winnings associated with their fights.
Montalvo has also obtained extensive bank records showing how MTK moved cash around. It’s understood that banks, including institutions based in Ireland, were used in the transactions which Montalvo now wants probed.
Montalvo is currently documenting assets linked to MTK and Kinahan that can be liquidated to pay his client the €8.7 million he is owed. He has brought in an expert from the US Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Division to help in this regard.
Company documents filed by MTK Global USA in the state of Delaware show it ‘voluntarily cancelled’ its status as of May 26, 2022. The development occurred a month after Kinahan had a €5 million bounty placed on his head by the US government.
Both Kinahan and MTK Global USA fired their legal counsel in the case in California and ‘ghosted’ the legal proceedings.
Kinahan’s involvement in the world of boxing is the subject of a separate multi-million law suit in California. A leading boxing “fixer” claims Kinahan secretly struck a multi-million dollar deal with global fight promoter Top Rank to be its exclusive consultant outside of the US.
Daniel Kinahan’s business dealings have come under scrutiny in recent times. The Sunday World has reported on Kinahan’s gym in Marbella and the police searching the MTK gym.
The allegations made by Montalvo and others have significant implications for Kinahan and MTK Global. As the investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen what actions will be taken by the authorities.
Montalvo’s claims have added weight to the growing concerns surrounding Kinahan’s business dealings. The calls for a Garda investigation into Kinahan’s business dealings with fighters are growing louder.
It is understood that Keane is suing Kinahan for in excess of $25 million, plus interest, in allegedly unpaid fees. Keane claims that he spent $27,000 courting Kinahan and Tyson Fury in Dubai for Top Rank in January 2019 ahead of the fighter’s change of promoters the following month.
The allegations made by Keane suggest that Kinahan and Top Rank president Todd duBoef struck a secret deal. However, duBoef’s attorney has rejected Keane’s claims, stating that they are “false and frivolous”.
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