Timeline of Project Eagle
The long road towards today's report on NAMA's NI portfolio
The Comptroller & Auditor General has published a report into the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland property portfolio, Project Eagle, this afternoon. Jack Horgan-Jones chronicles the unfolding of the events leading up to today's report:
2011: A group of Belfast businessmen originate a plan to sell off Nama’s Northern Irish loan book to a single buyer.
May 22, 2013: according to Pimco, one of the bidders for the Nama loan book, it attends a meeting with Frank Cushnahan, Northern Ireland finance minister Sammy Wilson, Peter Robinson, Tughans’ managing partner Ian Coulter and a lawyer from US firm Brown Rudnick, over the potential purchase of the NI loan book.
June 24, 2013: Brown Rudnick writes to Wilson, saying it has two potential buyers for Nama’s NI loans. The letter is passed to Michael Noonan, who passes it to Nama. Nama says this is the first time it becomes aware of outside interest.
July 25, 2013: Noonan responds to Wilson, advising him that approaches should be made to Nama directly and informs him of the open loan sale process usually employed by Nama.
September 2013: Pimco makes an unsolicited approach to Nama for its NI loans. This approach is eventually rebuffed.
October 7, 2013: the Northern Irish advisory committee is officially informed of the Pimco approach for the first time.
November 8, 2013: Frank Cushnahan resigns from the Northern Irish Advisory Committee.
December 12, 2013: Nama decides to sell its Northern Irish loans through an open sale process.
January 7, 2014: Nama receives a letter from Peter Robinson’s office containing a draft set of conditions which a buyer of the NI loans should abide by. This is later described by Nama as a “debtor’s charter”. The bad bank does not engage further on it.
March 10, 2014: Pimco informs Nama that its compliance staff have discovered that its bid includes a proposed payment to third parties for completion of the deal, including Frank Cushnahan.
March 11-13, 2014: Following a hastily-convened board meeting, Nama requests that Pimco withdraw from bidding due to its fee arrangement. Pimco says it withdrew of its own accord.
March 2014: Cerberus, the eventual winner of the deal, appoints Brown Rudnick and Tughans’ Solicitors, who also worked on the Pimco bid, to its bid team for Nama’s NI loans.
March 25, 2014: Cerberus chairman and former US vice-president Dan Quayle meets with Robinson and NI finance minister Simon Hamilton at Stormont Castle.
April 1, 2014: Cerberus and the only other remaining bidder, Fortress Investment Group, submit bids of £1.241 billion and £1.1 billion respectively.
April 3, 2014: Nama seeks, and receives, confirmation from Cerberus that nobody associated with the agency is set for a payment as part of its impending purchase of the NI loans.
November 2014: Ian Coulter places £7.5 million in an offshore bank account. Coulter claims that he did so with the help of the firm’s finance director.
January 2015: Coulter leaves Tughans. The firm reports the money transfer to the NI Law Society, which begins an investigation.
April 24, 2015: Belfast accountant David Watters writes to Tughans, requesting payment from the offshore monies.
July 2, 2015: Mick Wallace makes his first allegations in the Dáil. In a series of statements, Tughans confirms details of the money transfers. Nama says that this is the first it has heard of the offshore account. Using Dáil privilege, Wallace says the bad bank’s contention on this is not true.
July 5, 2015: Cerberus releases a statement saying that “to our best knowledge, no improper or illegal fees were paid by us or on our behalf by our advisers”.
July 9, 2015: Nama appears at the Public Accounts Committee and defends its sale of the NI loans. The PSNI, and latterly the National Crime Agency, announce that they will investigate the deal.
July 15, 2015: Wallace makes further allegations in the Dáil, which are now being investigated by the Gardaí.
September 7, 2015: the US Department of Justice subpoenas Cerberus over the NI loan sale. The FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission are also briefed on the case.
October 1, 2015: Nama appears at the Public Accounts Committee for a second time, and again defends its sale of the NI loans.
Feb 29, 2016: First BBC Spotlight programme on Nama’s Project Eagle sale airs
May 31, 2016: Two men are arrested in Northern Ireland in relation to Project Eagle
June 29, 2016: Private members bill calling on government to investigate the deal is defeated. Fianna Fail votes against the bill.
September 7, 2016: Second BBC spotlight programme is aired on Project Eagle
September 10, 2016: The Irish Times reports that the C&AG report into the transaction will find that “shortcomings” and “irregularities” were present in the sale, and that the state potentially lost out on “hundreds of millions of euro” in the transaction
September 11, 2016: In The Sunday Business Post, Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin calls for an inquiry, and cabinet minister says Nama has “serious questions to answer”
September 14, 2016: The C&AG report goes to cabinet and will be published this afternoon.
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