Witness says Northern Ireland leader was to receive payment over loan sale

BELFAST (Reuters) - A witness has told a parliamentary inquiry in Northern Ireland that the First Minister of the British province was to receive a payment on completion of a 1.3 billion pound sale of property loans to a U.S. private equity firm. First Minister Peter Robinson, now embroiled in crisis talks to avoid the collapse of the region's power-sharing government between pro-British Protestants and pro-Irish Catholics, has denied in the past that he was due to receive any payment. Northern Ireland police opened a criminal inquiry in July into the sale by Ireland's state-run "bad bank", the National Asset Management Agency, of its entire portfolio of loans belonging to Northern Ireland-based debtors to U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus has said that no improper or illegal fees were paid by it or on its behalf. "A point that is hugely relevant to this inquiry is a success fee that was due to be paid to [Belfast solicitors' firm] Tughan's," said blogger Jamie Bryson. "There were to be a number of beneficiaries to this fee.. I can now tell this committee, without fear of contradiction, that Person A is Peter Robinson MLA." There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Robinson's spokesman. Bryson is a pro-British Protestant unionist who joined calls from Robinson's Irish nationalist political rivals for an in-depth investigation into the NAMA sale. Bryson has not revealed his sources, but members of the local parliament decided his reporting on the issue had enough credibility to justify an invitation to speak before the inquiry in public session. NAMA is one of the world's largest property groups, having paid a total of 32 billion euros to purge Irish banks of risky loans worth over double that amount following a crash that forced Ireland to seek an international bailout. Robinson said in July that he could "unequivocally, and without reservation, confirm that I have not received nor was I ever to receive any proceeds ... in relation to the NAMA sale.” (Additional reporting by Amanda Ferguson; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Mark Heinrich)