Men accused of fraud have not kept a cent, court hears

A composite image of Ian Coulter and Frank Cushnahan. On the left is Mr Coulter, who is wearing a black wax jacket and white shirt. He's standing outside Laganside Court. He's wearing dark glasses and has short grey hair and a beard. On the right is Frank Cushnahan. Mr Cushnahan is wearing a grey coat with a blue shirt and red and white stripe tie. He has balding grey hair.Pacemaker

Ian Coulter (left) and Frank Cushnahan (right) have denied the charges against them

Two men facing fraud charges arising from Northern Ireland's biggest property deal "have not kept a cent" of a £7.5m success fee, a trial has heard.

Frank Cushnahan, 83, from Alexandra Gate in Holywood, has been charged with two counts of fraud spanning a period from 1 April to 7 November 2013.

Co-accused Ian Coulter, 54, of Templepatrick Road in Ballyclare, who is a former managing partner of Tughans solicitors, has been charged with five offences between 3 April to 1 December 2014.

Both men deny all of the charges against them.

Frank Cushnahan is wearing a grey coat over a blue shirt and red and white stripped tie. He has short grey hair on his hair. The background is blurred. Pacemaker

Frank Cushnahan, photographed outside court on 1 October

Both men are accused of wrongdoing linked to the sale of the entire Northern Ireland loan portfolio held by Ireland's National Asset Management Agency (Nama), after the financial crash in 2008.

The purpose of Nama was to take over billions of property development debts held by banks in the Republic of Ireland.

The Northern Ireland loan book involved loans bundled together into an enormous portfolio.

The debts, which were worth about £4bn, were eventually sold to a US investment fund in 2014 for £1.1bn.

'Purchased a yacht?'

During Monday's hearing, former Nama chair Frank Daly was cross-examined by defence barrister Grey Berry KC, who is representing Coulter. It was Mr Daly's fourth and final day in the witness box.

The jury of nine men and three women have already heard a deal with US investment fund Pimco to buy the entire Northern Irish loan book fell through in March 2014.

The reason given by Pimco at the time was that Mr Cushnahan was set to benefit from a success fee and concerns were raised due to his position as an external member of the Northern Ireland advisory committee, established by Nama to advise in respect of property debts in Northern Ireland.

After the deal with Pimco fell through, a second US investment fund, Cerberus, made a successful bid - and it is this deal that Mr Daly was asked about by Mr Berry.

A law firm in London who advised Cerberus and Tughans solicitors in Belfast each received a payment of £7.5m in success fees.

Ian Coulter is wearing a dark green coat with a upright brown collar. He has a grey jumper and a white shirt on. He is wearing brown glasses. He has shot facial hair and grey head hair. Behind him is a glass door with stickers on it. PA Media

Ian Coulter, pictured outside court in September

When Mr Daly was asked if he was aware that £7.5m "was returned to Tughans account where it sits to this day", he told Mr Berry he believed this was the case.

Mr Berry added that after Tughans paid tax on it, "the rump of that is what's left in Tughans account".

Mr Daly was then asked: "You're not aware of Mr Coulter or Mr Cushnahan having purchased a yacht over the last few years, or something like that, at a few million pounds?"

He replied: "I'm not aware one way or the other."

Mr Berry then said: "Can I suggest to you, in fact, that Mr Cushnahan or Mr Coulter have not kept a cent of the money. Do you know that? Are you aware of that?"

The witness replied: "I have no knowledge of that one way or the other."

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