Nama seeks agency to investigate assets

THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency is seeking tenders from agencies to investigate a person or a company’s worldwide assets.

Nama wants to be able to verify information from property developers, who must make comprehensive disclosures to the State agency if they want it to continue to support their business. Making inaccurate or incomplete disclosures to the agency is a criminal offence.

Nama is seeking tenders from experienced international investigation businesses so as to reassure it about “the assets, liabilities and income” of debtors whose loans have been moved to State control.

Those submitting tenders have to have provided credit verification services to at least three major clients, such as government organisations or credit institutions, over the past three years and must be able to conduct simultaneous inquiries in multiple jurisdictions.

At a minimum, tenderers have to have experience of working in the past five years in Ireland, Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the US. They are being asked to provide four case studies of engagements undertaken in the past three years, similar to the type of service being sought by Nama.

The tender document outlines how it expects the providers of the service will determine an appropriate strategy for going about their work once equipped with the information available to Nama and/or the banks which have transferred loans to Nama.

Asset-tracing investigations may involve public and “discreet” sources. They could involve computer forensic techniques and interviews with company management and professional advisers, including advisers to debtors.