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Four senior partners at the Belfast office of KPMG have left the firm, months after they were arrested in connection with suspected tax evasion.

In a statement the accountancy firm said they "have now retired following a period of administrative leave".

Jon D'Arcy, Eamonn Donaghy, Arthur O'Brien and Paul Hollway were detained by HM Revenue and Customs on 25 November.

KPMG subsequently ordered its own internal investigation.

However, it said the arrests were not connected to its business or clients.

The company employs more than 200 people in its Belfast office.

KPMG added on Friday: "The firm has co-operated fully with the HMRC investigation which relates solely to the personal affairs of the four individuals."

The four are directors in a property investment company, JEAP Limited, which made a £4m loss when the Irish property market crashed in 2008.

Mr Donaghy was KPMG's head of tax in Belfast and was heavily involved in the campaign to devolve corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland.

Mr Hollway was the firm's head of corporate finance in Ireland and Mr D'Arcy its chairman.

The Belfast office will now be headed up by John Hansen.