Leaked papers show Kinahan clan allowed to open Dubai food business after being judged 'low risk'

The ‘business’ plan was leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington D.C.

Documents show how, following the Regency hotel shooting in November 2016, the gang planned to set up a 'commodity' business in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).

A due diligence report shows how authorities in Dubai branded Daniel and Christopher Kinahan Jnr’s business plan as "low risk" adding that it was "okay to proceed."

The DMCC area of Dubai is a free trade zone that was established in 2002.

Another branch of their business, in a separate jurisdiction of the UAE, would trade clothing and textiles.

Records show that authorities, despite extensive media coverage showing Christy snr and his two son were involved in drugs trafficking, approved the Kinahan’s business plan.

Their business plan described how ‘Haizum General Trading Co. LLC’ would import food from Brazil, Thailand, India, China and East Africa to Persian Gulf countries and beyond.

“We also hope to eventually expand into the trading of edible oil, pasta, and even poultry, if we happen to line up potential leads, prospective clients, and profitable deals for these products,” the business plan read.

“We plan to incorporate the company with a physical office from the get go, as we expect to employ a workforce of seven employees,” it added.

They planned to make $6.8 million in the first year, and said that the shareholders had several other “supporting” businesses in the UAE, and were “keen on expanding the size and scale of their operations in the coming year.”

According to records the reason they chose to set up operations in the DMCC was to have an “international sales office, promote the Haizum business and trade in various agro-commodities all over the world.”

It also showed that Daniel was to own 30 per cent of their LLC company, with 19 per cent owned by Christy Jnr and the rest by a UAE national, Hadif Al Ktebi.

This was because until recently, UAE laws governing business stipulated that more than 50 per cent of the company must be owned by an Emirati partner.

A copy of the contract, obtained by ICIJ said that the company had a starting capital of approximately $100,000.

The leaked documents come as the U.S State Department announced a $5 million reward for key information leading to the Kinahan gang being dismantled.

They are offering the reward for information "leading to the financial disruption" of the Kinahan transnational crime group, or the arrest and conviction of its leaders.

The three leaders of the gang are named by the authorities as Daniel Kinahan, who runs the day-to-day operations, his father Christy Kinahan Snr who organises property purchases, and Christy Kinahan Jnr who oversees their finances.