Nama role in Project Eagle not focus of UK inquiry, says Noonan

A UK criminal investigation into the controversial “Project Eagle” sale of an 850 property loan portfolio for €1.6 billion is not concerned with the role of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) in the transaction, according to the Minister for Finance.

Michael Noonan said Nama's chief executive and chairman met the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) a number of weeks ago. "It is their clear understanding based on that engagement that the NCA investigation is not concerned with Nama's role in this transaction."

The focus “appears to be very much on the purchaser side of the transaction”, he said.

Mr Noonan said the Comptroller & Auditor General would review the transaction and produce a preliminary report as soon as practicable.

Revelations

He rejected Fianna Fáil calls for a commission of investigation into the sale, following revelations of an Isle of Man account containing £7 million in alleged “fixer” fees and transaction payments.

Mr Noonan insisted in the Dáil: “I can see no benefit of such an investigation because up to now there has been no allegation of wrongdoing directed towards Nama.”

Mr Noonan said he was surprised Fianna Fáil introduced the motion because Nama was one of the party’s few successes in its “disastrous management of the affairs of the State”. Finance spokesman Michael McGrath said there must be a commission of investigation “to ensure that no question marks hang over the largest sale of assets to date”.

He added: “The decision to proceed with the sale of Project Eagle was made by Nama in Dublin and Nama ultimately has to account for the entirety of that transaction.”

Integrity

Mr McGrath said Nama had to do this “if for no other reason than to prove or disprove very profound allegations that have been made about the integrity of the single largest commercial transaction that Nama has entered into since its foundation”.

Earlier, Taoiseach Enda Kenny repeated his call to Independent TD Mick Wallace to bring his allegations to the public accounts committee.

Mr Wallace told the Dáil he had asked An Garda Síochána to investigate why Nama did not report the discovery that US investment fund Pimco had been requested to pay £5 million to former Nama advisory committee member Frank Cushnahan.

The TD said he had asked how Nama allowed the sale to go ahead knowing that the legal firms involved, Brown Rudnick and Tughans, were also involved with bidders Pimco, which withdrew from the sale when it raised the issue of acquisition fees.

Mr Wallace told the Dáil that Nama chairman Frank Daly had replied: “Our advice is that such fee payments are not illegal.”