Temasek Cuts Employee Salaries After $275M FTX Bet Failed

Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek has cut salaries for the staff responsible for Sam Bankman Freed’s failed $275 million investment in the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which went bankrupt last year.

TemasekThe company, one of the world’s largest investors, said it was “disappointed” by the investment and the “negative impact on our reputation” after being criticized for backing the startup. The investment represented 0.09% of the S$403 billion (US$298 billion) portfolio.

“Although there was no misconduct by the investment team leading up to the investment recommendation, the investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for the investment decisions made, were collectively held accountable and had their compensation reduced,” Temasek said Monday. said.

The statement outlined Temasek’s conclusions. trade review, launched in November 2022, the same month that FTX filed for bankruptcy. The Singapore investor has faced a rare public backlash after the details behind the failed bet became public.

Temasek defended an “eight-month due diligence” process, but critics said the startup, once valued at $40 billion when Bankman-Fried was effectively president, had a fundamental I questioned if the check was even done. The face of the cryptocurrency industry. Temasek said his trust in former chief executive Bankman-Fried was “misplaced”.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told parliament last year that Temasek’s loss was “disappointing” and caused reputational damage to the city-state. Former Temasek chieftain Ho Ching, wife of Singapore’s leader Lee Hsien Loong, called the fund’s losses “lay an egg in our face”.

Temasek’s failed bet further undermined confidence in Singapore’s ability to regulate the digital asset industry. Singapore encouraged crypto firms to set up operations locally and allowed both retail and institutional investors to trade in riskier asset classes.

However, a series of city-state-related crypto failures in 2022, including the collapse of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and cryptocurrency platform Hoddlenote, have put city-states under intense scrutiny.

Experts warned that the lack of detail in the report could lead to further criticism. FTX investment and due diligence process.

“We don’t know yet, but there is a risk that such a sketchy report will inevitably fuel public dissatisfaction rather than allay it,” said Kelvin Lowe, a law professor at the National University of Singapore.

Temasek, which raises the majority of its funding from its own investment returns, has valued its portfolio at S$403 billion over the past decade, largely thanks to its big bets on China and technology, according to the latest public information. doubled to The firm has a number of investments in cryptocurrency and blockchain companies around the world, but claims its overall exposure to this space is minimal.