Namagate, as Jim Allister, the Traditional Unionist Voice leader, has dubbed it, to the annoyance of the National Asset Management Agency, is a big story about big money with a big cast that could yet conclude in a big, big ending. And, to quote the Independent TD Shane Ross, it has the wow factor.

The Republic of Ireland has become familiar with – some might say inured to – financial scandals and inquiries. North of the Border the focus has been on different matters: achieving peace, putting a power-sharing government in place and, as is again topical, keeping that administration in place. That's not to mention the particularly current matter of parades and flags.

So the disclosure that £7 million, or almost €10 million, is resting in the account of one of Northern Ireland's highest-flying solicitors has caused some amazement. Equally, the talk of a huge Nama portfolio, originally valued at £4.5 billion (€6.3 billion) but sold for £1.3 billion (€1.8 billion) to the US investment giant Cerberus – one of whose heads is the former US vice-president Dan Quayle – has resulted in allegations of big-time political corruption. This has, understandably, generated rumour, speculation and suspicion – as well as some intriguing insights into Northern Ireland's business world.

Sure, the North has seen the occasional controversy over the awarding of contracts. And, of course, in backrooms and pubs one would hear rumours of financial shenanigans allegedly involving certain politicians. But nothing like this.

Daly at the PAC

Little wonder, therefore, that Allister couldn't resist the "Namagate" description while at the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts on Thursday. Ross was moved to exclaim "wow!" when Frank Daly of Nama told him that £5 million (€7 million) in acquisition fees had been intended for one of the central players to the narrative. This was the Northern Ireland businessman Frank Cushnahan.

Daly, who has always argued that Nama received a decent price for its portfolio, was also quick to point out that that fee had nothing to do with Nama. He has insisted that any wrongdoing is in relation to the purchase rather than the sale of the properties.

Where this potential scandal dovetails with the Republic’s financial scandals is that it is complicated; the deeper you go into the financial wood, the darker it becomes. But gradually a little light is getting through.

The Independent TD Mick Wallace wrote the first lines of this story when, in the Dáil last week, he said that £7 million had been lodged in an Isle of Man account "reportedly earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or party". This resulted from the sale of Nama's 850-property Northern Ireland portfolio to Cerberus, for that £1.3 billion.

Coulter’s account

It quickly became apparent that Wallace was working to a solid brief when the Tughans legal firm in Belfast confirmed that the money had ended up in the account of its former managing partner Ian Coulter.

Tughans said the money was retrieved, that Coulter left the company in January, and that the Law Society in Northern Ireland was investigating Coulter, who also stood down as chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in Northern Ireland.

There was no confirmation of any politician acquiring the money.

What also emerged was that Frank Cushnahan was key to attempts to sell off Nama's mammoth Northern Ireland portfolio. This was confirmed in relation to another US investment firm, Pimco, which was interested in buying it.

The problem was a potential conflict of interest: Cushnahan, along with Brian Rowntree, had previously acted as a Northern Ireland adviser to Nama. Appointed by the former DUP finance minister Sammy Wilson in 2010, Cushnahan resigned as a Nama adviser in November 2013, six months before the sale to Cerberus.

Cushnahan also did work for Tughans, where he had a private office. Cushnahan, Tughans and the international law firm Brown Rudnick were initially involved in Pimco’s bid.

According to Nama, the agency became alarmed when it learned that its former adviser was engaged in the Pimco bid. It informed Pimco that, to avoid “tainting” Nama, it must withdraw from the bid or be compelled to withdraw. Pimco disputes this version of events, saying it withdrew of its own volition because it also had concerns about Cushnahan’s involvement.

Dividable fee

Daly says Pimco was to pay an acquisitions fee of £15 million (€21 million), which was to be divided equally between Brown Rudnick, Tughans (through Coulter, its former managing partner) and Cushnahan. It was the prospect of Cushnahan being paid a fee of £5 million that prompted Ross’s “wow!” at Thursday’s committee meeting.

When Pimco withdrew, Brown Rudnick and Tughans then began assisting Cerberus in its successful bid. Nama said it agreed to accept its £1.3 billion offer on the basis of a commitment from Cerberus that Cushnahan would not benefit.

Which brings us back to Coulter’s Isle of Man account, in which £7 million from the Cerberus acquisitions payment was resting. For whom was that money intended?

The word in Northern Ireland is that a considerable portion of it was for “fixers” who facilitated the sale of the portfolio. But who are the fixers?

That’s what the PSNI is trying to determine. It’s also what the Stormont finance-scrutiny committee and the Dáil public-accounts committee, as well as an interested media and public, would like concrete answers too.

Which in turn brings us back to Mick Wallace’s central allegation that a Northern Ireland politician or party was to gain from the £7 million.

There is much private speculation about who the politician or politicians might be, as well as some unsubstantiated stuff on the internet that could see some people facing libel actions.

Two politicians have taken the trouble to say they are in no way implicated. The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mike Nesbitt, says that, "for the record, I can state categorically I am not the intended recipient of this alleged £7 million". And First Minister Peter Robinson says: "I can unequivocally, and without reservation, confirm that, like Mike, I have not received nor was I ever to receive any proceeds from Cerberus, Tughans or anyone else in relation to the Nama sale."

Meeting with Quayle

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has complained that he was not made aware of one purportedly “official” meeting involving Robinson, Coulter and Dan Quayle of Cerberus just before the sale.

Robinson's son Gareth Robinson told the Irish News on Thursday that while his PR firm, Verbatim Communications, has worked for Tughans in the past, none of Verbatim's representatives "facilitated or were in any way involved in the sale of Nama assets to Cerberus".

The police, press and politicians are sifting through this and so much more detail. It’s enough to scramble your brain, although so far there is no smoking gun that nails a politician to the accusation first levelled by Wallace. Daithí McKay, the Sinn Féin chairman of the Assembly’s finance committee, says that in the weeks ahead there will be a dedicated effort to “drill down” to the truth.

As people in the Republic well know, and as people north of the Border will learn, it can be difficult and time-consuming to get to the end of a labyrinth. Still, at least the burrowing has begun.