An independent investigation into the sale of a multibillion-euro National Asset Management Agency portfolio, named Project Arrow, has been called for by Independent Wexford TD Mick Wallace.
The portfolio, involving some €8.4 billion worth of non-performing Irish and British loans secured mostly against real estate, is in the process of being sold by the agency.
The portfolio, made up of hundreds of loans, is the largest Nama has put on the market to date.
Mr Wallace said that, given the loans are non-performing, it was not “rational” or in the interest of the taxpayer to sell them off in one go.
Despite this, Mr Wallace said it appeared Nama was determined to follow through with the sale. It appointed real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield in February to handle the matter.
“It doesn’t stack up and the Government should stop that happening,” said Mr Wallace. “It should, at the very least, have a preliminary investigation to see what problems come to light.”
Make public
He recently called for the suspension of the sale for the same reasons.
A Nama spokesman said it did not accept that the TD’s opinion was a considered view of the market or of Nama’s mandate and operations.
Mr Wallace also said he had received a number of new allegations about the workings of Nama and intends to make some of those public when the Dáil resumes in September.
A Nama spokesman said any allegation of wrongdoing should be sent to gardaí to be investigated.
“Nama can make no comment on the allegations Mr Wallace plans to make using Dáil privilege as it has no information on what they are until he chooses to make them,” said the spokesman.
Gardaí
Mr Wallace has previously made a number of claims about the workings of Nama in the Dáil and, in particular, its sale of Project Eagle last year.
He claimed the agency had sold €5.7 billion of property loans in Northern Ireland for €1.6 billion – a 72 per cent discount – to US investment fund Cerberus.
Mr Wallace also alleged that €9.8 million was discovered in an Isle of Man account during an audit of Belfast law firm Tughans, which was involved in Project Eagle. He said that money was destined for a Northern Ireland politician or party.
Mr Wallace met gardaí last month to discuss the allegations he made about the Project Eagle sale.
