Ireland's National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) will take legal action against property developers who have transferred assets to their spouses to prevent them being seized by the state-run "bad bank". The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) said on Tuesday it was pursuing developers to bring such assets, including luxury private homes, large tracts of land and rental properties, under its control.
"If they don't do it consensual within a specified time period, NAMA will pursue them in court," it said in a statement. NAMA, which was established to take over banks' risky commercial property loans, said three developers had voluntarily agreed to reverse such transfers resulting in the agency acquiring assets worth 130 million euros. NAMA's statement came in the aftermath of a television documentary aired on national broadcaster RTE on Monday which detailed how some of Ireland's most high profile developers had transferred assets to their wives ahead of the agency's creation.
The "Prime Time" programme showed how some developers were still enjoying opulent lifestyles, including in one instance helicoptering to a horse race, despite the government's pledge to pursue them "to the ends of the earth" to ensure they repaid their debts.
Ireland's banks lent property developers 10s of billions of euros during the height of the "Celtic Tiger" economic boom and a subsequent property market collapse has left taxpayers footing the bill for the reckless loans. Interviewed on the programme, the centre-left Labour party's spokeswoman on finance said developers who signed over their assets to their spouses would have to ensure their relationship remained on good terms.