2 days ago
Photo of Kinahan bagman goes viral after he is wrongly identified as IDF general
The article is accompanied by a well-known picture of a hand-cuffed Johnny Morrissey being led away by police after he was arrested in Spain in September 2022
The well-known photograph of Morrissey being led away by police in Spain
A photograph of Dutch police arresting an Israeli military commander for 'war crimes' that mistakenly uses an image of Kinahan bagman Johnny Morrisey has gone viral.
The story has been fact-checked by news websites that found the story is incorrect and the person pictured in the piece is the wrong one.
It was claimed that Israeli Major General Shitan Shaul, commander of the Armoured Corp, was arrested in the Netherlands on charges of committing war crimes in Rafah.
'Charges were brought forward by a human rights organization as he was spotted enjoying his summer vacation on The Hague beach,' the widely-reported story reads.
The well-known photograph of Morrissey being led away by police in Spain
News in 90 Seconds - August 16th
The article is accompanied by a well-known image of a hand-cuffed Johnny Morrissey being led away by police after he was arrested in Spain in September 2022.
Fact-checks point out that the photo taken more than three years ago predates the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
'The image was originally published online to illustrate news reports about a suspected Irish gangster's arrest in Spain,' one fact-checking website reports.
It adds that Morrissey, 'known as Johnny Cash for the wads of bank notes he carried with him, is suspected of laundering more than €200 million (£174m) for the Kinahan gang, a criminal network whose leadership have been in hiding from European and US authorities.'
The article incorrectly claims this is Israeli Major General Shitan Shaul
Fact-checkers also highlight the fact that in the photo 'the officer to the detainee's left is not wearing the uniform of a Dutch police agency'.
'Her vest is clearly marked 'Guardia Civil' which is Spain's nationwide police force.
'Behind her walks a man wearing the insignia of Ireland's Garda, the Emerald Isle's national police agency.'
Morrisey was one of seven senior Kinahan cartel associates sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury's (DOT) Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2022.
The Manchester native who was the Kinahans' alleged money man was arrested at his villa on the Costa Del Sol in September of that year.
Authorities say he may have used the Hawala money transfer system to launder €200 million of drug money in 18 months.
Morrissey was taken into custody and spent almost two years behind bars in Alhaurin de la Torre prison, Malaga, before he was released on bail in June 2024.
Under the Spanish legal system, suspects do not face formal charges until their trial begins, but they can be held in custody as a person of interest.
Described as a 'highly-dangerous and violent man', he is suspected of running the elaborate drugs-money laundering operation on behalf of the Kinahan Cartel, as well as for other gangs.
Police say he was at the centre of 'the most important money laundering operation in Spain' and that €350,000 a day was washed through his organisation.
The Kinahan organised crime group is alleged to have established ties with Hezbollah through the use of the Hawala system.
The Shia Islamist group, who are classified as a terrorist organisation by the United States, have used the system in Europe to finance their activities and deal drugs.
When the Kinahan cartel was sanctioned by US authorities in 2022, Morrissey was named as a key cartel enforcer who was laundering money through his alcohol company, Nero Vodka.
The company, which was run by his wife Nicola, allowed him to present the image of a legitimate entrepreneur.
The glamorous businesswoman was arrested alongside her husband in 2022 but was later released without charge.
Hawala is an informal money transfer system that allows for funds to be moved through intermediaries known as "hawaladars', without the money itself ever moving across jurisdictions.
A hawaladar in one country can take receipt of the money from one payer before contacting a hawaladar in another country who will pay out the equivalent sum in cash or goods to the payee.
No documentation is kept or recorded and the system works on trust between the hawaladars.
The traditional method is popular in parts of Asia and Africa, particularly among migrant workers who send money to their families.
However, the informal nature of the system, which is untraceable, has made it a popular way to exchange money linked to terrorism, drugs and money laundering.
