NI: Prominent solicitor who denies fraud over NAMA deal may not face trial until 2023

NI: Prominent solicitor who denies fraud over NAMA deal may not face trial until 2023

A prominent solicitor who headed one of Northern Ireland’s largest commercial law firms may not go on trial for alleged fraud offences until 2023, a court has heard.

Solicitor Ian Coulter, 49, and businessman Frank Cushnahan, 78, were charged last year with fraud offences linked to the sale of NAMA’s Northern Ireland property loan book in 2014.

The matter was mentioned before Belfast Magistrates’ Court yesterday and was adjourned until Tuesday 13 April to allow more time for prosecutors to work through material connected to the case.

Lawyers for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said the volume and complexity of material in the case, which concerns the largest-ever property deal in Northern Ireland, is “almost unprecedented”.

Solicitor Joe Rice, representing Mr Cushnahan, told the court the case might not reach trial before 2023 at the current pace.

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