U.S. DOJ probes Cerberus in Ireland's state-run NAMA property sale - FT

(Reuters) - U.S authorities are probing allegations of irregular payments related to a 1.2 billion pound property sale by Ireland's state-run "bad bank," the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, the Financial Times reported.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which is in early stages of examining the deal, has sent a subpoena for information to Cerberus, the business newspaper said, citing sources. (http://on.ft.com/1QixbHS)

This move comes following a criminal inquiry by the Northern Ireland Police in July into NAMA's property sale after allegations by Mick Wallace, an independent member of parliament.

Wallace claimed that 7 million pounds which had been moved from a Belfast law firm involved in the deal to an account in the Isle of Man was "reportedly earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or political party."

Cerberus in July said that no improper or illegal fees were paid by it or on its behalf.

Cerberus, a $25 billion New-York based investment firm, won the auction in 2014 to buy NAMA's entire portfolio of loans belonging to Northern Ireland-based debtors. (http://bit.ly/1KUC0ah)

The portfolio, which was known as "Project Eagle," had a par value of 4.5 billion pounds and was NAMA's largest deal to date.

NAMA is one of the world's largest property groups having paid a total of 32 billion euros ($35.72 billion) to purge local banks of risky loans worth over double that amount following a crash that forced Ireland to seek an international bailout.

The Department of Justice could not be immediately reached for a comment.

Cerberus and NAMA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for a comment.

($1 = 0.6594 pounds)

($1 = 0.8959 euros)

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bangalore)