The merger between the PGA and the Saudi PIF in June brought plenty of lawsuits regarding the suspected dealings on both sides. Moreover, LIV Golf head and PIF governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, is facing a $74 million lawsuit in a Canadian court for unlawful activities. Another controversy regarding the Saudi Arabian Kingdom says that they’ve threatened the consultants with 20 years of imprisonment if they choose to comply with the US government regarding the framework agreement investigation.
In November, the PIF also sued their advisors to block any information from reaching the Senate Committee. Moreover, the talks between the PGA and PIF have interested the US Senate since last June. In February, a hearing took place in Washington, DC, involving the consultants of the PIF. Let’s see what they reveal there!
Saudi PIF Consultants Highlight Dire Punishment Threat In Senate Hearing
The top PIF consultants spoke their thoughts in the Senate hearing. Rich Lesser said,
“The PIF has been explicit that the disclosure of information relating to BCG’s work for PIF is a violation of Saudi law, which ‘imposes criminal penalties…imprisonment for a maximum of 20 years.”
After that, Michael Klein went on to add,
“This represents aberrant behavior for a client, and, quite frankly, for the PIF, who has historically been a client that has operated with best practices of governance with us.”
After the hearing concluded, the Senate reached a point where the information wasn’t provided by the consultants in a detailed way bearing a fraction. As a reply to the senate hearing, the PIF also released a verdict. It talked about how they want to work with the subcommittee in good faith and are trying to provide information from the advisors, but some laws in Saudi Arabia should be respected. They highlighted how the questions regarding confidential information are a matter of speculation.
“The Subcommittee’s requests are sweeping and unprecedented in seeking to compel the production of confidential and classified information of a foreign sovereign instrumentality, but we hope to work with the Subcommittee to resolve these issues.”
In the end, they put stress on how the PIF helped the US economy grow and create more jobs for the people, thus, leading them into the golf world. The PGAT and Saudi PIF were in talks to fix a for-profit entity by December 31st, but after the deadline was missed, the future of the deal remains uncertain. Recently, the SSG invested $3 billion in the PGA Tour and will financially back the association. This deal creates a stage for the PGA Tour, where the circuit is less dependent on the PIF.
