The former chairman of collapsed Peregrine Investments Holdings, Philip Tose, has left Templeton Franklin Investment Services (Asia) due to 'personal reasons'.
His decision to leave comes two months before the Government is due to receive a report from an independent inspector into the collapse of Peregrine.
The report is expected to focus on a US$265 million loan from Peregrine to an Indonesian taxi company, Steady Safe, which co-incided with the firm's demise in January last year, and it may contain harsh criticism of some directors and senior executives.
Mr Tose's departure has sparked speculation that Templeton might be attempting to distance itself from the former Peregrine chief ahead of the release of the investigation's findings.
His decision to leave after about 18 months with Templeton may have also been influenced by civil court action being taken by minority shareholders against members of Peregrine's board.
A source at Templeton confirmed that Mr Tose had left the firm last Wednesday and said it was for personal reasons.