UPDATED: So Martin McGuinness was in on the ground floor of the NAMA MoU after all…

So the deputy First Minister knew all about the NAMA Memorandum of Understanding after all…

SINN Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was present during a conference call where the controversial sale of Nama’s Project Eagle Northern Ireland loan book was discussed.

Mr McGuinness and Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson were joined by Finance Minister Michael Noonan during the call in January last year.
Crucially, minutes of the telephone conversation show a letter of intent provided by investment company Pimco was discussed during the call.

Pimco was in the running for the loan book until the firm’s compliance staff informed Nama that a former Nama advisor, Frank Cushnahan, stood to earn Stg£5m in fees should the company win the bid.

Nama expressed concerns about this and Pimco subsequently stepped out of the bidding process leaving two other bidders – Cerberus, which ultimately bought the €1.6bn portfolio, and Fortress.

Mr McGuinness told the Northern Assembly’s Committee on Finance and Personnel last week he was never consulted about the Pimco letter of intent.

Which is not at all what Martin McGuinness told the Finance and Personnel Committee at Stormont last week..

UPDATE: This appears to be where the dFM’s evidence seems to falls apart…

Mick Fealty

Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty