JURORS TO BE CHOSEN IN BILL HWANG'S TRIAL OVER ARCHEGOS COLLAPSE

By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jury selection is expected to wrap up Thursday in the criminal racketeering trial of Sung Kook "Bill" Hwang over the 2021 collapse of his $36 billion fund Archegos Capital Management, setting the stage for opening statements and witness testimony next week.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan and legal teams for prosecutors and the defendants began the process of asking potential jurors about their background and biases, known as voir dire. Initial questions included whether they had worked at or had other connections to financial institutions including Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and others.

A few potential jurors said they had connections but could be impartial.

The trial will delve into the implosion of Hwang's lightly regulated family investment office Archegos, which prosecutors allege caused more than $100 billion in shareholder losses at companies in its portfolio.

A pool of 76 potential jurors were chosen on Wednesday who said they could serve the full length of the trial, which could last up to eight weeks.

One potential juror was excused on Thursday after he said he was not a native English speaker and was struggling to understand the instructions. Twelve jurors and four alternate jurors will ultimately be chosen.

Prosecutors accuse Hwang of using financial contracts known as total return swaps to secretly amass outsize stakes in multiple companies without actually holding their stock.

His positions were so large they eclipsed that of the companies' largest investors, driving up stock prices, prosecutors say. At its peak, they say, Archegos had $36 billion in assets and $160 billion of exposure to equities.

Falling stock prices in March 2021 triggered margin calls that Archegos was unable to meet. That, in turn, led some banks to dump the stocks backing his swaps, causing big losses for Archegos and its lenders, such as Credit Suisse, now part of UBS, and Nomura Holdings.

Prosecutors claim Hwang and former Archegos Chief Financial Officer Patrick Halligan, who is also on trial, lied about their holdings to sustain their business relationship with global banks.

Hwang and Halligan are charged with racketeering conspiracy. Hwang faces an additional 10 counts of fraud and market manipulation, and Halligan an additional two counts of fraud. Each count carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years.

The two men have pleaded not guilty and are expected to argue prosecutors are pushing a novel and nonsensical market manipulation theory.

Hwang's lawyers have described the case as the "most aggressive open market manipulation case ever" brought by prosecutors. Several attorneys told Reuters it may be a tough case for the government.

Archegos head trader William Tomita and Chief Risk Officer Scott Becker have pleaded guilty to related charges and are expected to testify at the trial.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Michael Erman)

2024-05-09T20:29:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd