Politicians on both sides of the border have called for a fresh investigation in the £1.2 billion (€1.5 billion) sale of a portfolio of loans known as Project Eagle to Cerberus, the US investment fund, amid new allegations about the purchase of the Nama portfolio.
A BBC Spotlight investigation broadcast earlier this week contained fresh accusations about a businessman at the heart of the sale of Project Eagle — Northern Ireland’s largest property deal.
Frank Cushnahan was recorded, using a covert device, claiming that he was due to be paid a fixer fee in relation to the sale of Project Eagle to Cerberus. Mr Cushnahan, who had been an adviser to Nama, has consistently denied that he was due to receive money.
The £1.2 billion sale to Cerberus, which had a par value of £4.5 billion, was completed in March 2014.
Gerry Adams has called for a Commission of Investigation into the deal to examine “the damning allegations of insider trading and political cronyism”.
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Martin McGuinness also called for an inquiry. “The [Stormont] Assembly’s finance committee has been conducting its own inquiry but a number of the key players in these events have refused to give evidence. There is also an ongoing criminal probe and that must continue to fully investigate and identify any wrongdoing or criminality,” he said.
“Given the unprecedented scale and importance of this deal and the most recent revelations about fixers’ fees, a Commission of Investigation to look into the sale of Nama’s Northern loan portfolio is now needed to establish all of the facts.”
Mike Nesbitt, the Ulster Unionist party leader, said the “whiff of foul play and skulduggery would continue to haunt the body politic at Stormont until all the facts are known”.
In July, Mick Wallace, an independent TD, used parliamentary privilege in the Dail to claim that £7 million from the sale proceeds of Project Eagle were lodged in an Isle of Man bank account, which was controlled by a partner at Tughans, a Belfast law firm, and “earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or political party”.
Speaking on Newstalk radio yesterday, Mr Wallace questioned the circumstances of the Nama portfolio sale.
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“A big problem with all the Nama sales is that they were so big that very, very few people could even entertain the idea of buying them and so you have to ask: why were Nama so insistent on selling such big parcels that only US funds could possibly enter the bidding race? This policy led to a very uncompetitive process,” he said.
“We are probably not going to get the whole truth until we have a proper independent commission of inquiry.”
In a statement yesterday, the Department of Finance said that all relevant information that could be made public about the process had already been disclosed by the department and Nama.
“The allegations made last night repeat previous allegations relating to the buy side of the NI sales process and potential conflicts of interest of Mr Cushnahan. There is no allegation of wrongdoing directed against Nama,” it said. “Nama and the Irish authorities will cooperate fully with any requests for help made by the various investigating authorities.
“The Department of Finance is satisfied that Nama adhered to its mandate to achieve the best return for the Irish taxpayer. This was clearly demonstrated through Nama’s insistence on an open market sales process for this portfolio which places each bidder on level footing in terms of their knowledge of the portfolio,” it added.
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When contacted yesterday, a spokesperson for Nama said it “has dealt with these issues extensively over the last number of months and has nothing further to add at this time”.
The Spotlight programme played a secret recording of Mr Cushnahan telling two others that £6 million — which was moved from Tughans by Ian Coulter, its former managing partner, to an Isle of Man bank account in late 2014 — was for him for facilitating the Project Eagle deal.
“You know when I was working on that Cerberus thing to get that thing out, he worked with me to get that. And basically all the work was done by me and him,” he said. He added that his role was deliberately hidden because of Nama’s objections, according to the BBC.
The money was allegedly part of a £7.5 million fee that Tughans received for working on the successful bid by Cerberus.
In September, Mr Cushnahan stated that he had never had any “meetings, dealings, correspondence or contact of any kind” with Cerberus. He has denied that he was set to receive a fee from the investment fund.
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In a statement in July, Cerberus said it “has never employed, paid or sought advice from Frank Cushnahan in relation to our purchase of the Project Eagle portfolio or any other activity”.
It said: “We are meticulous in our approach to business and do not tolerate inappropriate actions such as the ones that have been alleged. We insist on the same high standards of conduct from our advisers. In this matter, as is our standard business practice, we codified these expectations in our engagement letters with our advisers so that there was no room for interpretation.”
All parties involved in the transaction have denied acting unlawfully and Mr Coulter has denied it was intended for any politician.