Saudi Investment Fund Chief Warned to Testify on Capitol Hill in PGA Tour-LIV Merger Probe

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, has declined a request to testify before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, citing concerns of foreign sovereignty and international comity. Attorneys for Al-Rumayyan argued that he is an "inappropriate witness" due to being bound by the Kingdom's laws regarding the confidentiality of certain information. However, two U.S. District Court judges previously dismissed similar sovereignty concerns raised by Al-Rumayyan and the Public Investment Fund in an antitrust case. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who made the request, responded by stating that U.S. law exempts certain commercial activity from sovereign immunity and that typical investor activities should not be considered confidential information that would adversely affect Saudi Arabia. Blumenthal has given Al-Rumayyan a deadline to propose alternative dates for testimony or face potential legal action to compel compliance.