US investment firm Pimco approached the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) about buying its Northern Irish loans two months before Frank Cushnahan resigned from the State agency's advisory committee.
Yesterday it emerged that Pimco subsequently agreed to pay £5 million (€6.97 million) to Mr Cushnahan if its bid for the loans succeeded.
Former committee member Mr Cushnahan was to get a third of a £15 million success fee, with two legal firms getting £5 million each.
The success fees offered by Pimco, which later withdrew from the process, were revealed by Nama at a meeting of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday.
Nama's eventual sale of its Northern Ireland loans to another US company, Cerberus, for €1.6 billion last year is at the centre of corruption claims in the North after it emerged that £7 million (about €9.7 million) was transferred from Belfast solicitor Tughans, which worked on the deal, to an Isle of Man account.
Last week, Independent TD Mick Wallace, claimed in the Dáil that the £7 million in the Isle of Man was earmarked for a prominent politician in Northern Ireland.
Allegations of corruption
The UK National Crime Agency has confirmed it is to investigate the allegations of corruption. The specialised force, which tackles organised crime and offences in more than one jurisdiction, has links withAn
Garda Síochána
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At the PAC hearing yesterday, it emerged that Pimco had first approached Nama about a possible sale of its Northern property loans, nominally valued at €5.7 billion, in September 2013.
Mr Cushnahan resigned from Nama’s Northern Ireland advisory committee on November 8th, 2013.
Nama chairman Frank Daly said yesterday that the next he heard of Mr Cushnahan was that he was involved with Pimco's proposed bid.
Mr Daly told the PAC that Pimco informed the agency in March 2014 that it had agreed to pay Mr Cushnahan £5 million if its bid succeeded.
According to Mr Daly, Pimco pledged to divide a £15 million success fee equally between Mr Cushnahan, Belfast solicitor Tughans and US lawyer Brown Rudnick.
Pimco’s admission of its agreement with Mr Cushnahan led to its withdrawal from the auction, known as Project Eagle.
Both the PAC and the Northern Ireland Assembly’s finance committee are carrying out investigations.
