Northern Ireland

Nama scandal: Man (54) arrested by National Crime Agency

A 54-year-old man has been arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of its probe into the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio
A 54-year-old man has been arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of its probe into the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio A 54-year-old man has been arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of its probe into the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio

A 54-YEAR-OLD man has become the third person to be arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of its probe into the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio.

The man was arrested at Belfast International Airport on Thursday of last week.

He was later released on police bail.

For the last two years, the NCA has been investigating the controversial £1.24bn sale of Nama's northern loans portfolio - known as Project Eagle - to US fund Cerberus.

The probe was sparked after it emerged that £7.2 million paid by Cerberus had been lodged in an Isle of Man bank account.

According to independent TD Mick Wallace, the money was reportedly destined for a Northern Ireland politician or party.

An NCA spokeswoman would only confirm the latest arrest.

"On 24 August 2017 officers from the National Crime Agency arrested a 54-year-old man at Belfast International Airport in connection with its ongoing Nama investigation," she said.

"The man was later released on police bail. As the investigation is continuing we are unable to comment further."

Two people were arrested in May last year and interviewed under caution.

The Irish News understands they were former Nama adviser Frank Cushnahan and Ronnie Hanna, a one-time senior executive at Ulster Bank and head of asset recovery at Nama.

Both were later released from police bail. They deny any wrongdoing.