Top Archegos investment duo charged with fraud after early-morning raid

theguardian.com:

US prosecutors charged the founder and chief financial officer of collapsed investor Archegos Capital Management with fraud on Wednesday morning in a move that is likely to start one of the biggest Wall Street white-collar prosecutions in years.

Archegos founder Bill Hwang and his former top lieutenant, Patrick Halligan, were arrested at their homes and are expected to appear in court later today.

The family-owned investment company imploded last year – losing $20bn in just two days – and causing billions in losses for banks, investors and its own employees.

Federal authorities charged Hwang with 11 criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, market manipulation and securities fraud and accused him of using Archegos as an “instrument of market manipulation and fraud” which had “far-reaching consequences for other participants in the United States securities markets”.

Their alleged crimes inflated the value of Archegos’s holdings from $1.5bn to $35bn in one year, according to a statement from Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams.

Archegos had relied on borrowed money to build its portfolio. When stock markets turned against them, the scheme collapsed.

More details soon …