The Commission of Investigation report on the disputed Project Eagle deal closes a key chapter in the Nama saga. Still, the looming trial in Belfast of two men linked to the race for Nama’s Northern assets means the denouement is still awaited.
The Commission upheld the £1.322 billion (€1.59 billion) price tag on Nama’s disputed deal with Cerberus, a big relief for the State “bad bank”. Nama always rejected Comptroller & Auditor General criticism that the deal involved “a significant probable loss of value to the State”.
The C&AG opened the door for the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to find in 2017 that Nama had failed to show the transaction achieved “value for money” for the State. This too was rejected by Nama.
But the PAC didn’t stop there, saying it was “not procedurally appropriate” for Department of Finance officials to meet Cerberus in the days leading up to the Project Eagle bid closing date. In addition, it was “not procedurally appropriate” for then finance minister Michael Noonan to meet senior Cerberus people on the eve of the closing date.
“This could have given the perception that Cerberus was benefiting from preferential treatment,” the PAC found of the department and Noonan. Both parties rejected such conclusions.
Now the commission has had its say on these talks, finding the March 28th, 2014, meeting between department officials and Cerberus “was appropriate” and that officials did not engage on Project Eagle. “The commission notes that while it would have been preferable to have a written record of this meeting, it accepts that this was not a requirement under the department’s ‘record management guidelines’ policy in place at the time.”
Similarly, the commission said the meeting three days later between Noonan, officials and Cerberus was “appropriate in the circumstances”.
“The commission accepts that department officials did not have any detailed information in relation to the Northern Ireland portfolio sales process which could have been discussed at the meeting which might have thereby compromised the position of the minister or the department.”
The PAC report displeased Noonan but the Commission of Investigation gives him the last laugh.
