Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has cut salaries for executives for the firm’s current investment in crypto exchange FTX.
Temasek was once the second largest investor in FTX, holding 7 million shares, according to Forbes. However, the company was forced to account for its investment after the stock market collapsed.
According to a May 29 statement from Temasek, it has now concluded its internal investigation of the $275 million investment loss suffered by FTX, which it started shortly after the exchange collapsed in November 2022. . Although the findings showed that there was “no wrongdoing” inside, it was reported that the investment team and the senior management took “collective responsibility” and reduced their salaries.
It was noted that although “there are various risks” in every investment, it is very important that Temasek continues to invest in new innovations:
“We believe that we need to invest in new sectors and emerging technologies to understand how these areas can affect the business and financial models of our current portfolio and whether they will be profitable drivers in ‘the future and the world are changing. “
FTX’s $275 million investment so far will represent just 0.09% of Temasek’s portfolio value of more than $293 billion at the time of the fall.
Temasek stands by its statement that it did a thorough due diligence process on FTX before investing. Temasek CEO Lim Boon Heng told Bloomberg in a May 29 statement that “there was a deliberate cover-up of fraudulent behavior by investors, including Temasek,” suggesting that it had a significant impact on the business:
“We are disappointed with the results of our investment and the negative impact on our reputation.”
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong reiterated similar comments during a parliamentary session in November 2022, a few days after the FTX collapse.
“So what happened to FTX caused not only financial loss to Temasek, but also damage to its reputation,” Wong said. Temasek said that after doing its due diligence, it reviewed the financial statements of FTX, assessed the legal risks and crypto market financial service providers, and sought legal advice during the nine months from February to October 2021.
It was added that the company also informed those who have direct knowledge about FTX, including employees, other investors and participants in the company. In recent news, Temasek has denied rumors that it has invested $10 million in Array, a developer of algorithmic financial systems based on smart contracts and intelligence.
In a brief statement on May 2, the company addressed the news and tweets about Temasek’s investment, dismissing them saying that “this information is incorrect.”
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