Nama allegations - A different way of doing things

The early decision to ask the UK’s top law enforcement body to lead the investigation into allegations of corruption around the largest ever property deal in the North stands in stark contrast to our relaxed attitude to the allegations.

Britain’s National Crime Agency has been requested by the PSNI to lead the inquiry into an alleged multimillion pot to make payoffs to un-named politicians over the Nama sale of 850 NI properties to a US investment fund.

The development comes just days after Independent TD Mick Wallace made allegations about the sale — and €10m lodged in an Isle of Man account — and suggests that the allegations are being taken far more seriously north of the border than they are here.

Yesterday Nama executives defended the agency’s handling of the sale at the Dáil Public Accounts Committee. Nama chairman Frank Daly said the sale process for Project Eagle was robust, competitive and secured the best outcome for the taxpayer.

Mr Daly said that if a payment did find its way to an account in the Isle of Man, as has been alleged, then wherever such a payment came from, it did not come from Nama.

There is absolutely no reason to doubt Mr Daly’s evidence but it is hard not to think that the gardaí should have, as Mr Wallace suggested some time ago, opened an investigation some time ago. Down here we do things differently. And what a price we pay