Singapore state-owned investment fund Temasek Holdings says that its multi-million-dollar investment in FTX tarnished the company’s reputation.
In a new statement from Temasek, the company’s chairman Lim Boon Heng says that the investment in FTX was a disappointment and damaged the global investment firm’s image.
Says Lim,
“With FTX, as alleged by prosecutors and as admitted by key executives at FTX and its affiliates, there was fraudulent conduct intentionally hidden from investors, including Temasek. Nevertheless, we are disappointed with the outcome of our investment, and the negative impact on our reputation.”
According to the statement, those responsible at Temasek for making the decision to invest $275 million in FTX, which was reportedly written off in November, were not found to have committed any misconduct. However, they have had their pay reduced by an undisclosed amount as a penalty.
“An independent team has conducted an internal review of the investment and the findings were directly presented to the Board Risk and Sustainability Committee and to our Board. Although there was no misconduct by the investment team in reaching their investment recommendation, the investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for investment decisions made, took collective accountability and had their compensation reduced.”
Temasek Holdings manages a net portfolio worth $496 billion, and part of the firm’s strategy is to invest in early-stage companies and emerging technologies, according to the statement.
“Temasek, as an investor-owner, seeks to deliver sustainable returns over the long term. While there are inherent risks whenever we invest, we believe that we have to invest in new sectors and emerging technologies to understand how these areas may impact the business and financial models of our existing portfolio, and whether they would be drivers of future value in an ever-changing world. This is why we invest in early-stage companies.”
Disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faces multiple charges for allegedly defrauding customers and mishandling billions of dollars worth of their funds.
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