A judge has ruled that the trial of one of two men accused of fraud linked to the sale of NAMA's Northern Ireland loan book cannot continue.
NAMA, the National Asset Management Agency, was set up by the Irish Government to deal with toxic property loans after the banking crisis in 2008.
Ian Coulter (54), a former managing partner of Tughans solicitors from Templepatrick Road in Ballyclare, had been on trial for the past nine weeks accused of five charges connected to the £1.1bn property deal in 2014, which he denies.
But the jury of nine men and three women was told at Belfast Crown Court this morning that his trial could not continue as his senior legal counsel is ill.
The judge, Madam Justice McBride, ruled that Ian Coulter could not have a fair trial in the absence of his senior counsel.
A lawyer for the Public Prosecution Service said its intention is that the trial will proceed in due course.
The second defendant in the case, Frank Cushnahan, 83, from Alexander Gate in Holywood, Co Down, will continue.
He is accused of failing to inform the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee that he was providing information to a company called Pimco about the proposed purchase of the Northern Ireland loan book from NAMA. He denies the charge.
