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Nama deal: Irish 'bad bank' officials face PAC questions Nama deal: PAC told former Nama NI adviser 'was in line for £5m'
(35 minutes later)
Nama officials are being questioned by Irish politicians about allegations over the sale of the agency's Northern Ireland property loan portfolio. A former Nama adviser was in line for a £5m payment after the sale of Nama's property loan portfolio in Northern Ireland, an Irish parliament (Dáil) committee has been told.
It follows a claim made in the Irish parliament that a Northern Ireland politician stood to benefit financially from the April 2014 deal. A US investment firm, PIMCO, pulled out of the tender bidding process after discovering the fee arrangement to Nama's former adviser, Frank Cushnahan.
Nama is the Republic of Ireland's "bad bank", set up to deal with toxic loans during the Irish banking crisis. The revelation came during a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Its staff are appearing before the Public Accounts Committee in Dublin. It is examining Nama's sale of its 850-property NI portfolio last year.
The witnesses include Nama's chief executive officer Brendan McDonagh and its chairman Frank Daly, among others. 'Very odd'
Police investigation The National Assets Management Agency (Nama) is the Republic of Ireland's "bad bank", set up to deal with toxic loans during the Irish banking crisis, and the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio is known as Project Eagle.
The Republic of Ireland's Comptroller and Auditor General is also due to attend the PAC hearing. Nama's chairman Frank Daly and chief executive Brendan McDonagh faced questions from Dáil members (TDs) at the PAC hearing on Thursday.
Nama sold its Northern Ireland property portfolio to US investment firm Cerberus last year for more than £1bn. Mr Daly told the committee that the PIMCO bid not go ahead because of the discovery of the involvement of Mr Cushnahan.
The allegations, which include a claim that money in a £7m Isle of Man bank account was earmarked for a unnamed politician, are being investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). He said Mr Cushnahan was to share in a three-way split of £15m with a US law firm and Ian Coulter, who was then a managing partner of Belfast law firm, Tughans.
The deal is also being examined by the Northern Ireland Assembly's Finance Committee and the Law Society is also holding its own investigation into aspects of the transaction. After hearing the revelation, Independent TD Shane Ross wanted to know how Nama staff reacted at the time.
The firms involved in the deal have denied any wrongdoing. "It is a pretty startling fact in this process that something very odd is going on," Mr Ross said.
He added: "I would have thought the sequence of events coming up would make you guys think 'this thing stinks'."
'Robust and competitive'
Mr Daly has defended the agency's handling of the bidding process.
Weeks after PIMCO withdrew because of its concerns, Nama's loan portfolio sale went ahead to a different bidder, US investment firm, Cerberus.
The Nama chairman told TDs that the sale process for Project Eagle was robust, competitive and secured the best outcome for the Irish taxpayer.
Both Cerberus and PIMCO have stated they did nothing improper.
A criminal investigation is under way in Northern Ireland after the discovery of a bank account operated by Mr Coulter in the Isle of Man, containing up to £7m to be paid to so-called fixers and influencers behind the sale.
Tughans said last week that Mr Coulter diverted the money without their knowledge and once they retrieved the funds he left the practice in January.
The Belfast law firm reported the matter to the Law Society.