Private detectives to look for Irish hidden wealth

Private detectives to look for Irish hidden wealth - Blog

Private detectives to look for Irish hidden wealth

December 21 2011, 10:36 am

The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), which is responsible for 850 developers, will be hiring up to 10 private investigators to conduct an international search for secret cash deposits and hidden properties owned by the country’s top developers.

Investigators have been given permission to interview developers, their accountants and solicitors, and view full financial records in order to unearth assets which were trying to be kept out of the eyes of the State.

Last year all major NAMA members were forced to swear affidavits detailing their assets and their debts. If it is proven that they lied, NAMA has the ability to impose very tough sanctions on them.

The private investigators will be carrying out asset tracing using the most up to date computer forensic techniques to discover undisclosed wealth. They will also look into more secretive countries through the use of local experts to increase scrutiny of Ireland’s developers who owe the government €70 billion.

On the 14^th of December NAMA invited companies to apply for the work and up to 10 investigation firms will go on the eventual panel. The contracts are expected to run over two years with an option for renewal.

A large number of developers have set up companies abroad, such as the Isle of Man to hide their wealth and it is very likely that this will be a key part of the investigation.

NAMA has made it clear that the investigators hired are obliged to keep in contact with them at all times and they are ultimately responsible for how they operate.

So far NAMA has already reversed transfers of wealth from developers to their children and their spouses. Several hundred million Euros of transfers have been reversed and NAMA is no doubt hoping to find more such cases.