Daniel Kinahan's dramatic extradition back to Ireland marks the end of an era for the suspected cartel kingpin but leaves a massive question mark over his family.
The 49-year-old was flown back to Dublin on a government jet on Sunday after months locked up in Dubai, following an extradition warrant requested by Irish authorities.
If Kinahan is acquitted of the charge he faces of directing organised crime between October 2015 and April 2017, it will be at least a year before he tastes freedom. If found guilty, he could be caged for life.
Family's Status in Dubai
Now, as the former boxing promoter sits in a cell at Portlaoise Prison for up to 20 hours a day, those closest to him face an uncertain future in the desert.
Kinahan fled Ireland a quarter of a century ago, eventually making Dubai his permanent sanctuary after surviving the bloody 2016 Regency Hotel attack. Throughout his time in the UAE, he lived a glamorous life alongside his wife, Caoimhe Robinson.
Originally from Darndale, Robinson is the former partner of gangster Micka 'The Panda' Kelly, who was gunned down by the Real IRA in 2011.
Luxury Lifestyle
Mother-of-five Robinson has been living the high life in the family's jaw-dropping seven-bedroom mega-mansion on Dubai's famous Palm Jumeirah resort. On top of their plush family home, she boasts a property empire of six luxury UAE pads, including a villa in the exclusive Emirates Hills enclave, rubbing shoulders with neighbours like F1 heiress Petra Ecclestone.
According to a source cited by the Irish Times, Robinson and Kinahan's children have opted to stay in Dubai for now. Neither Robinson nor any of the children are suspected of involvement in crime.
Before his extradition, Kinahan and his wife lived a gilded lifestyle, washing down £500 Beluga caviar with £220 tasting menus. The pair topped off their lavish reign in 2017 with a star-studded wedding at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel attended by former boxing champion Tyson Fury.
Legal and Financial Challenges
However, should the family ever attempt to return home to Ireland, they face an immediate legal minefield. Because Kinahan's fortune is banked offshore and he has been tax domiciled in Spain and Dubai for 25 years, Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has been unable to touch his overseas money.
But any attempt by his family to repatriate money to buy property back in Ireland would instantly trigger red flags for investigators eager to trace the source of the cash. The CAB has already shown its teeth by seizing and auctioning off Kinahan's luxury mansion in Saggart, Dublin, for €930,000 (£795,000).
While Kinahan's extradition has ended his years of hiding in the UAE, his father Christy snr, 69, and brother Christopher jnr, 45, remain stuck in Dubai. Hit by crippling US Treasury sanctions, the pair are effectively trapped and too terrified of arrest to leave the country, but facing the constant threat of sudden deportation by UAE authorities.
