U.S. Senators “escalated their scrutiny” of Saudi Arabia’s PIF in a hearing Tuesday before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that included representatives from four consulting firms that have worked with the fund regarding its interest in professional golf, according to Rex Hoggard of GOLFCHANNEL.com. An attorney representing PIF sent a letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in January arguing that "providing the documents the subcommittee requested would 'violate lawful orders issued by the courts of Saudi Arabia.'” The PIF was granted temporary injunctions in a Saudi Arabian court to keep the fund’s consultants from "providing the information the subcommittee has requested." Michael Klein from M. Klein & Company said at the hearing, “Our ability to respond in full today is not a matter of lack of desire ... we are simply limited by the ongoing litigation. ... Exposing ourselves to a breach under the filed court case with potential criminal consequences is simply not a risk I can take or impose on my employees.” The three other consultants "made similar arguments and also testified to limited connections to LIV Golf." All four firms "declined to provide the documents and information senators have requested under the temporary injunctions," which they have challenged in Saudi Arabian court. A hearing is scheduled for next month. Blumenthal asked the four execs to “commit to a potential future hearing on Saudi Arabian influence” in the U.S. (NBCSPORTS.com. 2/7).
WORKING THROUGH THE RED TAPE: GOLFWEEK’s Adam Woodard noted back in November, the PIF sued its advisers in Saudi court to "block any submission of information to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs." The committee took issue with the fact that the four advisers have "not fully cooperated with the investigation" and that the firms “have only provided a fraction of the documents demanded in a congressional subpoena.” Senate records detailed that the "information submitted largely consisted of calendar invites with redacted names, publicly available records and news clippings." The PIF released a statement in response to the hearing, saying in part, “We have been and are committed to working with the Subcommittee in good faith in a manner that is consistent with PIF’s status and obligations as an instrumentality of Saudi Arabia. ... We are engaged in extensive and rapid document reviews and will continue working constructively and with integrity with the Subcommittee with relevant information that can legally be disclosed under the laws of Saudi Arabia” (GOLFWEEK, 2/7).
