Temasek cut salaries of executives who recommended investment in FTX (report)

Temasek Holdings, a private company whose sole stakeholder is the Government of Singapore and whose sole purpose is to oversee investments for said government, was responsible for the second largest investment in FTX.

bad decision

Prior to the collapse of FTX, Temasek’s investments stood at approximately $275 million, which was 0.09% of the company’s total investment portfolio of approximately $304 billion.

Following the collapse of the platform – which caused Temasek to completely write-off its investment – ​​Temasek Holdings conducted an internal investigation into the matter in order to prevent any further damage to its reputation.

Temasek was not the only investment firm to have its investment written off, although it was the most significant investment to be scratched. Other firms doing the same include Sequoia Capital, SoftBank and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Despite the write-off, FTX still owes various creditors approximately $52 billion, of which $44 billion are claims recently filed by the IRS.

5/ Some of the following #FTXInstitutional investors have said they will write down their FTX investments to $0:

• Temasek Holdings – $275M
• Sequoia Capital – $213.5M
• SoftBank – $100M
• Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – $95M

— CoinGecko (@coingecko) December 3, 2022

Temasek’s internal post-mortem investigation is now done concludedThe firm’s internal audit service announced that no misconduct on their part had been found, although auditors insisted that critical information that should have been made available to investors – Temasek among them – was hidden by FTX.

Nevertheless, according to chairman Lin Boon Heng, the failed investment damaged the reputation of Temasek Holdings.

“As alleged by prosecutors and as acknowledged by key executives at FTX and its affiliates, there was fraudulent conduct intentionally concealed from investors, including Temasek. We are fully aware of the negative impact this could have on our investment results and our reputation. Disappointed with

Investment team took charge

Since the decision to invest in FTX was made in good faith – and due diligence was also carried out by Temasex’s investment department in a rigorous and professional manner – no internal sanctions were imposed.

However, the investment team that decided to greenlight the investment and the senior management that approved it have reportedly taken full responsibility for the venture’s failure. As a result, the annual compensation of those responsible has been reduced.

“The investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for the investment decisions made, took collective accountability and reduced their compensation.”

The investment firm declined to comment on whether bonuses or salaries of employees have been cut. Temasek has also remained tight-lipped about the exact amount of compensation deducted from the payroll of its employees.