This week, the trio of Frank Cushnahan and Ian Coulter were in the dock for their final trial. The case involves the controversial sale of a performing loan book that the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) administered over a decade ago. This case has drawn plenty of headlines attention. It raises significant implications for the Irish banking industry and for the management of toxic property loans.
Created by the Irish government in 2009, Nama is the Republic of Ireland’s “bad bank.” Its stated mission is to maximise value from the bad loans made by Irish banks during the financial crisis that erupted in 2008. The agency could demonstrate strong past performance, having made some £1.1 billion worth of loans in Northern Ireland, totaling close to £4 billion. They bundled these loans into a single portfolio to sell off.
Cushnahan, then 83, served as a special adviser on Nama’s Northern Ireland advisory committee from 2010 to 2013. Stormont succeeded in having them appointed Stormont to that role. He was scheduled to stand trial on two fraud charges. He denies. In contrast, Ian Coulter, 54, of Falmouth, is countering five similar charges — including fraud — which they all deny.
The trial is expected to run for a maximum of three months. Last week, a 12-member jury—nine men, three women—was sworn in. Crown barrister Jonathan Kinnear KC has used the first two-and-a-half weeks to outline the prosecution’s case against each of the defendants.
Kinnear certainly underscored how serious the allegations are. He said the prosecution’s intention is to convict both men of being involved in a fraudulent scheme during the sale of the loan book.
“Not a shred of evidence,” – Jonathan Kinnear KC
The trial will be focused on the particulars of the loan book sale. In particular, it will look at the actions and decisions taken by Cushnahan and Coulter when they were part of Nama’s dealings. The result can have far-reaching consequences for the two men. It will fundamentally change the way citizens perceive and experience governance within the Irish banking sector.
As the hearing moves forward, stakeholders will be watching closely. They breathlessly report as the unfolding evidence squashes or validates initial claims of innocent until proven guilty on the part of those accused. Justice for the single cause of this case, individual accountability. It raises questions about the systemic issues that allowed such transactions to take place in Ireland’s banking sector.
