Row as Lisney denies it signed off on report that claimed Nama lost €18bn
A war of words has erupted over estate agent Lisney’s role in an apparently damning report into Nama.
Lisney has distanced itself from the report that claimed taxpayers lost out on €18bn because Nama sold off properties too cheaply and too early.
The ‘Sunday Business Post’ reported that the report into Nama was “prepared by economist Jim Power and validated by Lisney”.
It was commissioned by David Daly, a developer and former Nama debtor.
Nama claimed the report was “riddled with errors”.
Late on Monday, Lisney issued a statement saying it had only a limited role in the report.
“Lisney did not validate the numbers in the report or verify the report as was reported in the ‘Sunday Business Post’.
“The sole data source in the report provided by Lisney relates to an appendix detailing 11 properties that were sold and subsequently resold, details of which were in the public domain and reported in national newspapers,” the company said.
But the ‘Sunday Business Post’ and the team behind the report, David Daly and Jim Power, rejected that assertion.
“Both David Daly and Jim Power confirm that Lisney was active at every stage of the report’s commissioning, production and completion,” a spokeswoman said.
Mr Daly even claimed Lisney was spooked by Nama’s reaction to his report.”This smacks of Nama throwing its weight around and trying to deflect attention from the real issue: that Nama hasn’t done its job properly.”
‘Sunday Business Post’ editor Ian Kehoe said it stands fully behind its coverage of the report. “Lisney was shown and approved the final report and a press release to accompany it,” Mr Kehoe said.
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