Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has publicly announced a reduction in compensation for its senior management and the investment team responsible for recommending its ill-fated investment in the now-defunct FTX bitcoin exchange.
In a departure from the norm among sovereign funds, Temasek has chosen to disclose these cuts in a statement released on May 29, 2023. This move comes approximately six months after Temasek initiated an internal investigation into its investment in FTX, which had resulted in a significant writedown of $275 million.
In a statement posted on Temasek’s website, Chairman Lim Boon Heng clarified that the investment team and senior management willingly accepted “collective accountability” for the unsuccessful venture and agreed to a reduction in their compensation.
The Chairman also expressed disappointment with the investment’s outcome and the negative impact it had on the fund’s reputation. He also highlighted that the senior management and the investment team were found to have no involvement in any misconduct regarding the recommendation to invest in FTX.
Temasek had earlier published a public statement in November 2022 following FTX’s collapse. The fund stated that it conducted thorough due diligence on the exchange before investing, and FTX’s audited financial statements indicated profitability in the previous year. Additionally, Temasek clarified that it has no direct exposure to cryptocurrencies and the losses incurred from the investment in FTX accounted for only 0.09% of Temasek’s net portfolio value, which amounted to S$403 billion ($304 billion) as of March 31, 2022.
In another development, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has decided to refrain from engaging in any future cryptocurrency investments. The pension plan manages assets exceeding $190 billion, and it has deliberately chosen to distance itself from the digital asset class. OTPP had initially invested in FTX during the crypto market’s bullish run in 2021 and participated in the company’s Series C funding round in early 2022. The Pension Plan suffered a complete loss of its $95 million investment following the exchange’s collapse in November of the same year.
If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
