Jurors told solicitor moved £7.2m offshore as businessman sought millions from Nama scheme
The long-awaited Nama corruption trial opened in Belfast yesterday with jurors hearing allegations that a top solicitor laundered millions of pounds while a prominent businessman secretly pursued vast profits.
At Belfast Crown Court, prosecutors claimed that Ian Coulter, a former solicitor, played a central role in funnelling £7.2m to an Isle of Man bank account as part of a wider £9m laundering scheme. His co-defendant, Frank Cushnahan, a former banker and influential figure in Northern Ireland’s business community, was accused of acting “in the shadows” while receiving payments for attending Nama advisory committee meetings.
A jury of nine men and three women listened as the Crown outlined the case on the first day of proceedings, more than a decade after the investigation into the Nama scandal first began. Both defendants deny all charges.
The trial centres on the Northern Ireland portfolio of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which was created by the Irish government during the financial crisis to manage distressed property loans. The agency sold its £1.2bn Northern Ireland property loan book in 2014, a transaction that immediately drew controversy and sparked years of scrutiny.
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Prosecutors alleged that Cushnahan had been paid €1,000 for every advisory committee meeting he attended, yet sought far greater rewards through his role in the transaction. Jurors were told that while he had been positioned publicly as an adviser, in reality he was seeking to profit from the disposal of the loans.
The Crown further alleged that Coulter created a fraudulent invoice to facilitate the transfer of £7.2m to the Isle of Man. The move, they said, was an attempt to disguise the origins of the money and conceal the flow of funds connected to the Nama deal.
Outlining the case, prosecutors described Cushnahan as a man who was not content with the advisory fees he received but was “greedy for millions”. They alleged that while others carried out the public negotiations, he acted covertly to secure financial gain.
Coulter, they argued, enabled these ambitions by manipulating paperwork and ensuring money could be moved offshore.
The opening of the trial marked a significant moment in one of Northern Ireland’s longest-running financial scandals. Allegations linked to the Nama loan book sale first surfaced shortly after the 2014 deal, leading to years of political fallout, inquiries, and criminal investigation.
The case against Coulter and Cushnahan has faced repeated delays, adding to its profile and the anticipation surrounding the eventual court hearing. For many observers, the trial represents the first opportunity to hear the evidence laid out fully before a jury.
During proceedings, the court was reminded that both men deny the charges brought against them. Defence counsel is expected to argue that their clients’ actions were legitimate and that the Crown’s interpretation of the evidence is flawed.
The trial, expected to run for several weeks, will examine the detailed financial arrangements behind the Nama portfolio sale and the personal dealings of those accused of manipulating it for personal enrichment.
While jurors have only begun to hear the evidence, the scale of the allegations underscores the significance of the case. A deal worth more than £1bn, claims of millions laundered offshore, and the involvement of senior figures from the legal and business worlds combine to make it one of the most high-profile trials in Northern Ireland’s recent history.