Temasek cuts pay of employees behind failed $275mn bet on FTX

Singaporean state investor Temasek minimize the pay of workers accountable for its failed $275mn funding in FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency alternate that collapsed final 12 months.

Temasek, one of many world’s largest buyers, mentioned it was “dissatisfied” with the funding and the “destructive influence on our fame”, after it was criticised for backing the start-up. The funding constituted 0.09 per cent of its S$403bn (US$298bn) portfolio.

“Though there was no misconduct by the funding workforce in reaching their funding advice, the funding workforce and senior administration, who’re finally accountable for funding selections made, took collective accountability and had their compensation lowered,” Temasek mentioned on Monday.

The assertion concluded Temasek’s review of the deal, which was launched in November 2022, the identical month FTX filed for chapter. The Singaporean investor was hit by a uncommon public backlash after particulars behind its failed wager grew to become public.

Temasek defended its “eight-month due diligence” course of however critics questioned whether or not even primary checks had been achieved into the start-up, which at one level was valued at $40bn when Bankman-Fried was in impact serving because the face of the crypto industry. Temasek described its belief in former chief govt Bankman-Fried as “misplaced”.

Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s deputy prime minister, informed parliament final 12 months that Temasek’s losses had been “disappointing” and had brought about reputational harm for the city-state. Ho Ching, the previous Temasek chief who’s the spouse of Singapore’s chief, Lee Hsien Loong, referred to as the fund’s loss “egg on our face”.

Temasek’s failed wager additional compromised confidence in Singapore’s capacity to manage the digital belongings business. Singapore had inspired crypto firms to arrange operations domestically and allowed each retail and institutional buyers to commerce within the dangerous asset class.

However a collection of crypto failures related to the city-state in 2022, together with the collapse of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto platform Hodlnaut, put the city-state beneath scrutiny.

Specialists warned that the report might gas extra criticism as a result of it didn’t provide many particulars concerning the FTX funding and the due diligence course of.

“It stays to be seen however there’s a threat that such a cursory report might — rightly or wrongly — gas public dissatisfaction quite than assuage them,” mentioned Kelvin Low, a regulation professor on the Nationwide College of Singapore.

Temasek, whose funds are largely sourced from the return by itself investments, has doubled the worth of its portfolio to S$403bn over the previous decade in response to the most recent public data, largely due to its large bets on China and tech. It has made a lot of investments into crypto and blockchain firms globally however maintains that its total publicity to the sector is minimal.