A ‘rat infested’ property in Co Donegal worth more than €10M has been sold to a company owned by the brother of the original developer for just €265,000.
Details of the shock price-knockdown were revealed by the head of Nama.
However, chief executive of Nama Brendan McDonagh, told the Public Accounts Committee that they had no alternative.
Details of where in Donegal the property is or the identity of the developers were not disclosed.
The property, which consists of 14 occupied residential units and 28 unoccupied units on a 21 hectare site, were sold to a company owned by the brother of the original debtor.
The issue was raised by State’s accountant the Comptroller and Auditor General in his 2021 report on Nama’s progress, saying what had transpired was “so exceptional” it merited mention.
The sale happened following a campaign of intimidation and threats, which saw the receiver appointed to sell the land resign in May 2020, with Nama subsequently concluding the market value of the assets was “unlikely to ever be achieved or the lands disposed of while the threats and intimidation continue”, while the debtor had likewise “threatened to commence litigation to frustrate the sale of the assets”.
“It is shocking, I agree,” Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh told the Public Accounts Committee yesterday.
“But the only alternative open to us after the receiver resigned was to get the assets back in control of the debtor.”
For full story see https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41236189.html
