Peter Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader, said allegations that he was in line for payments linked to the purchase of Nama’s Northern Ireland portfolio are “outrageous and groundless”.
Speaking yesterday in front of the Stormont committee investigating alleged irregularities arising out of Northern Ireland’s largest ever property sale, Mr Robinson rejected claims that he was to benefit financially from the deal.
Mr Robinson has temporarily stepped down as first minister amid an ongoing political crisis sparked by a murder linked to the IRA.
Last month the committee heard from Jamie Bryson, the Belfast-based loyalist blogger and activist, who claimed that Mr Robinson was one of five people who were set to share a “success fee” linked to the £1.2 billion sale of assets owned by Nama to Cerberus, the US investment firm.
In his opening statement Mr Robinson said he was “offended” by the allegation and that Mr Bryson had not produced “one shred of evidence”.
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“For the record I didn’t receive, expect to receive, sought or was offered a single penny as a result of the Nama sale,” Mr Robinson said.
The sale of the portfolio, known as Project Eagle, is being examined by parliamentary committees on both sides of the border and by the UK’s National Crime Agency.
In July, Mick Wallace, an independent TD, used parliamentary privilege in the Dail to claim that £7 million lodged in an Isle of Man bank account, which was controlled by a partner at Tughans, a Belfast law firm, was “earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or political party”.
Mr Bryson later told the Stormont finance committee that five people were to have received payments from the Isle of Man account — Mr Robinson, David Watters, an accountant; Andrew Creighton, a property developer; Frank Cushnahan, a former adviser to Nama in Northern Ireland; and Ian Coulter, a partner at Tughans, who has since left the firm.
All parties involved in the transaction have denied acting unlawfully, and Mr Coulter has denied the money was intended for any politician. Mr Watters and Mr Creighton have issued further statements denying the allegations.
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At yesterday’s hearing, Mr Robinson said he knew Mr Coulter and Mr Cushnahan as “pillars of the establishment” who were “motivated by the best interests of Northern Ireland”. He said he never considered they would be in line for a fee as a result of the Nama deal.
The DUP leader also disagreed with evidence given to the committee by Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein MLA and deputy first minister, last month.
Mr McGuinness told MLAs he had not been fully engaged or fully briefed on the Nama deal, referencing meetings and documents he was not aware of.
The DUP leader said Mr McGuinness was “kept informed throughout the process” and said he had copies of text messages and emails between DUP and Sinn Fein advisers.
“Whatever way one looks at it, it is clear the deputy first minister did have knowledge of material facts that were available to me during the process,” he said.
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Mr Robinson said he did not think Mr McGuinness had attempted to mislead the committee, but that his recollection of the events was not correct.
It has also emerged that Mr Robinson, Mr Cushnahan and Mr Coulter attended a meeting with Pimco, the US fund that initially bid for the Nama portfolio, in May 2013.
The details of the meeting were contained in a letter sent by Pimco to the committee earlier this week. Pimco said that it understood it was asked to attend the meeting so that its “credibility and suitability” as a potential manager of Northern Irish assets could be assessed.
Pimco said it received an “unsolicited” approach from a partner at Brown Rudnick, a US law firm, which introduced it to “two other parties which it appeared to be working with” to identify potential purchasers of the portfolio. Pimco pulled out of the deal due to concerns related to the fees for Mr Cushnahan, a former Nama advisor.
Mr Robinson said that while the picture around the circumstances of the deal had been “clouded”, the transaction was ultimately a good one for Northern Ireland.