Stormont committee requests full Nama probe briefing

Finance Committee chairwoman Emma Pengelly stressed the need to ensure its examination of the £1.2 billion sale of properties held by the Irish Republic’s “bad bank” - the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) - did not prejudice the fraud investigation by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

The committee convened for its first scheduled meeting of the new Assembly term just hours after two men arrested by the NCA in connection with the Nama deal were released on bail pending further inquiries.

The criminal investigation into the sale of Nama’s northern assets and property loans to US investment fund Cerberus was sparked by the discovery of a £7 million offshore transfer to an Isle of Man bank.

The Finance Committee conducted its own inquiry in the last 12 months, as did the Irish Dail’s Public Accounts Committee.

The Stormont committee produced what was essentially an interim report earlier this year before the Assembly was dissolved ahead of last month’s election.

One of the first decisions for the new-look committee will be whether to resume its investigation into the transaction.

Ms Pengelly, who is new to the committee’s chairmanship, said it was important members received a briefing from the NCA before embarking on detailed discussions on the fate of the inquiry.

“We need to be very careful we don’t prejudice justice and the ongoing investigations into this,” she said.

The DUP MLA added: “I am indicating that I think we should have an early discussion with the NCA before we have any other substantive discussion around this matter just to ensure we keep ourselves absolutely right on this and we keep everybody else right on this.”

Searches were carried out in Co Down on Tuesday as part of the operation that resulted in the two arrests.

A separate investigation into the affair is being run by the US Department of Justice’s Securities and Exchange Commission amid a raft of allegations about fixer fees behind the deal.

Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny has rejected calls for a state inquiry, insisting that no allegations of wrongdoing had been made against Nama.

It is the so-called “bad bank” set up in Ireland at the height of the financial crisis to take property-linked loans off the books of bailed-out banks.

It signed off on the Project Eagle deal in April 2014 by selling 800 property-linked loans to Cerberus, a multibillion fund which boasts former US vice president Dan Quayle in its ranks.

But the sale has been dogged by controversy since allegations were first made under parliamentary privilege that some of the money in the Isle of Man account was destined for a politician.

All parties involved in the £1.2 billion transaction in 2014 have denied wrongdoing.