A New York jury has found the Wall Street investor, Sung Kook ‘Bill’ Hwang, guilty of market manipulation and fraud.
This decision is coming three years after the failure of Hwang’s investment fund, Archegos Capital Management, which led to billions of dollars in losses for a lot of major banks.
Prosecutors accused Hwang of lying to lenders while secretly amassing large bets on several companies and when he was unable to repay the banks, it led to a mass sell-off of stocks causing the fund to collapse.
Hwang’s deputy at Archegos and his co-defendant, Patrick Halligan, was also found guilty of the same three charges he faced.
Their sentencing has been scheduled for 28 October but until then, both men will remain free on bail.
Hwang has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, three counts of fraud and seven counts of market manipulation while Halligan pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of fraud.
What They’re Saying
Halligan’s legal practitioner, Mart Mulligan had said that the verdict will be appealed;
“While we respect the jury, we intend to appeal and believe our client will be exonerated.”
Meanwhile, US attorney Damian Williams had after the verdicts, said;
“Hwang and Halligan lied about Archegos’s positions in these companies and just about every other materially important metric investment banks would use in determining the firm’s creditworthiness.”
“In doing so, Hwang and Halligan were able to fraudulently inflate a $1.5 billion (£1.17bn) portfolio into a $36 billion portfolio,” he concluded.
