A US lawmaker has challenged the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) over his refusal to testify before a Senate committee investigating the Kingdom’s golf deal with the PGA Tour.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of LIV Golf, has pushed back on a request by Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) claiming that he qualifies as an “inappropriate witness”.
According to Blumenthal, Al-Rumayyan and his counsel have argued he is a “minister bound by the Kingdom’s laws regarding the confidentiality of certain information” and that the subcommittee’s request for documents from PIF raises significant legal considerations due to diplomatic immunity.
June’s agreement between the PIF, PGA Tour and DP World Tour looked to put an end to antitrust litigation between the three parties – and many hoped it would also help to end golf’s civil war, which began when LIV Golf was born last summer.
However, this letter, which was made public on Wednesday, would suggest that choppy waters remain for all parties, and that there are still issues resolved to be resolved.
In February, federal magistrate judge Susan van Keulen rejected LIV’s arguments that the PIF and Al-Rumayyan were protected by sovereign immunity laws because Al-Rumayan’s conduct “falls within the commercial activity exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act.”
“As the Subcommittee’s July 27, 2023 letter makes clear, PSI is seeking to understand the scope of PIF’s U.S.-based investments and PIF’s plans for the PGA Tour and other U.S. entities,” Blumenthal wrote. “Your testimony and the production of the requested documents are both necessary to effectuate that goal.
“In short, PIF cannot have it both ways: if it wants to engage with the United States commercially, it must be subject to United States law and oversight. That oversight includes this Subcommittee’s inquiry.”
Blumenthal highlighted the PIF's $3.5 billion-dollar stake in Uber as an example of its “extensive business dealings” in the US, and said it suggested that the sovereign wealth fund intends to be much more than a “passive investor” in American enterprises.
Al-Rumayyan, who is reported to have met with The R&A at The Open in July, was invited to testify before the United States Senate in June but he declined due to scheduling issues.
In Wednesday’s letter Blumenthal wrote, “Your apparent reluctance to voluntarily appear raises questions about the veracity of your previously cited scheduling conflicts.”
Blumenthal said he expects Al-Rumayyan’s compliance for the production of documents by August 18 and to appear in front of the PSI on September 13.
The Senator also said he would consider “other legal methods” to force Al-Rumayyan to testify if he continued to refuse.
