MTK Global ceases operations amid rumored link to crime boss

"As a business we have faced unprecedented levels of unfair scrutiny and criticism since the sanctioning by the US Government of Daniel Joseph Kinahan," the statement reads. 

Kinahan founded MTK Global in 2012. Although he is said to have sold the company in 2017, he has stayed active in the boxing world and has been photographed with many high-profile fighters over the years, some of whom were managed by MTK like world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

MTK has reportedly been trying to distance itself from Kinahan for years now. The new sanctions on him, however, have driven promotors to step away from the company he once founded and have forced it to fold.

"It is a matter of public record that Mr. Kinahan's involvement in MTK ceased in 2017, and despite repeated reassurances in this regard, unfounded allegations about his ongoing association with us and our fighters persist," the statement continues.

The U.S. Treasury released a statement on April 11 announcing sanctions on alleged members of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, naming the group as a main source of smuggling cocaine and other drugs into Europe. Kinahan, his father Christy Sr., and brother Christopher are among the six associates listed by the government.

MTK plans to fully shutter operations by the end of the month. Gyms connected to the company will reportedly stay open independently for the foreseeable future.