The NAMA controversy
agendaNi takes a look at the latest claims surrounding the controversial sale of NAMA’s Northern Ireland assets.
The sale of NAMA’s £4.5 billion Northern Ireland loan portfolio has attracted a lot of interest following claims by TD Mick Wallace in the Dáil that £7 million was in an Isle of Man bank account, earmarked for an unknown Northern Ireland politician as part of the deal.
In July, NAMA’s former Northern Ireland advisor Brain Rowntree called for a full enquiry into how the body conducted the sale of its portfolio. The National Crime Agency, the Stormont Finance committee and the Dáil’s Public Accounts committee are all now investigating aspects of the deal.
Much of the controversy surrounding the deal stems from a meeting held in Stormont a fortnight before the NAMA deal was announced. Peter Robinson was amongst those present though it must be stressed he denies any wrongdoing despite Jamie Bryson’s allegation to the Stormont inquiry that the £7.5 million was intended for Robinson and four other men, one of whom, David Watters, penned a draft letter claiming he was due the money as a success fee.
Robinson claims the allegations made about him are “scurrilous” and “unfounded” and without “one iota of evidence.” In a statement released following Bryson’s testimony, Robinson said: “I neither received, expected to receive, sought, nor was I offered a single penny as the result of the NAMA sale. The allegations made lack credibility and can have no evidential basis.” Robinson has also agreed to make himself available to attend the committee on Wednesday 14 October.
However, deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has claimed there are “very serious questions” that need to be answered surrounding Peter Robinson’s role in the NAMA loan sale. McGuinness claims he was not told about meetings between NAMA, bidders for its Northern Ireland portfolio and DUP ministers.
He also claimed that it was “absolutely misleading” for the DUP to suggest he was fully informed and engaged with a bid from the prospective buyer Pimco and claimed he was “gobsmacked” to learn the former US Vice President and now Chairman of Cerberus Global Investments, Dan Quayle had visited Stormont to meet with the First Minister.
The membership of the finance and personnel committee has, during the course of the investigation, undergone something of a reshuffle as DUP Assembly newcomer Emma Pengelly and Gordon Lyons have replaced Adrian McQuillan and Paul Girvan. This change has brought criticism from the SDLP’s Dominic Bradley MLA who suggested there was a potential conflict of interest in the appointment of Ms Pengelly as her husband was a senior DFP official until three years ago.
The Dáil Public Affairs committee’s investigation into the deal has heard NAMA chairman Frank Daly reject suggestions that its loans portfolio sale process was corrupt. The Chairman also stated that NAMA would not appear before the Stormont inquiry and that the agency had “nothing to hide.” He also rejected claims that the buyer of the Northern Ireland loan book, US firm Cerberus, will make a huge profit on the purchase adding that the profit is likely to only amount to seven or eight per cent.
With several investigations, hearing testimonies from a wide range of people, it is clear the NAMA issue will not be leaving the headlines any time soon.
