By Tom Blitzer
Key Insights:
- Temasek Holdings announces salary reductions for teams involved in FTX investment following the exchange’s collapse, absorbing a loss of $275 million.
- The Chairman of Temasek confirms no misconduct in investment recommendations, but the investment team faces compensation reduction for accountability.
- Ongoing legal proceedings involve Sam Bankman-Fried seeking to dismiss 13 criminal charges while the FTX administration plans the exchange’s reopening.
Temasek Holdings, the investment firm based in Singapore, announced on Monday, May 29th, its intention to decrease the compensation for the team responsible for suggesting an investment in the now-defunct FTX digital currency exchange. As a result of the collapse of the FTX exchange in November 2022, Temasek was compelled to absorb a substantial loss of $275 million on its shareholding in the company.
Temasek’s Official Statement: Singapore’s Government Under Scrutiny
Shortly after the occurrence, an analysis concerning the Singaporean government’s participation in the exchange was published. Chairman Lim Boon Heng of Temasek offered detailed information in an official statement on the organisation’s official website.
According to the Chairman, there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of the investment team when they arrived at their investment suggestion. Nonetheless, the investment team and senior executives, who bore ultimate responsibility for investment choices, acknowledged shared responsibility and faced a decreased remuneration.
Salary Reductions Under Wraps at FTX
The exact extent of the salary reductions imposed on the top executives involved in the FTX investment remains undisclosed by the Singaporean investment firm. With assets under management amounting to S$403 billion ($304 billion) as of March 31, 2022, Temasek experienced a marginal decrease of 0.09% in its overall net worth due to this investment.
In a rather unexpected turn of events, Temasek asserted that they had diligently carried out extensive investigations before the downfall of the cryptocurrency exchange, leading to the discovery that the exchange’s financial statement, which had undergone a thorough audit, displayed a positive financial outcome.
New updates have emerged in the ongoing legal proceedings involving Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates. Just recently, SBF took action by submitting legal papers to the federal court, seeking to dismiss 13 criminal charges levelled against him.
However, the current FTX administration has been diligently devising strategies to recommence operations for the exchange; however, an exact inauguration date has not been finalized at this stage.