NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former billionaire investor Invoice Hwang may face a protracted keep in jail after he’s sentenced on Wednesday over the collapse of Archegos Capital Administration, which price Wall Road banks greater than $10 billion.
Hwang shall be sentenced by U.S. District Decide Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan, the place a jury convicted Hwang in July on 10 prison fees together with wire fraud, securities fraud and market manipulation.
Prosecutors are in search of a 21-year jail time period, and for Hwang to forfeit $12.35 billion and make restitution to victims.
Hwang requested for no jail, forfeiture or restitution. He additionally needs to stay free on bail whereas he appeals his conviction, saying he’s not a flight danger or risk to the group.
The March 2021 collapse of Archegos took lower than every week, gorgeous Hwang’s lenders and marking the autumn from grace of the protege of late hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson.
Hwang, 60, whose given identify is Sung Kook Hwang, arrange Archegos in New York as a household workplace in 2013, the yr after his former hedge fund Tiger Asia Administration pleaded responsible to wire fraud in an insider-trading case.
Prosecutors accused Hwang of mendacity to banks about Archegos’ portfolio so he may borrow cash aggressively and make concentrated bets on media and know-how shares similar to ViacomCBS, now known as Paramount International.
Whereas Archegos finally managed $36 billion, Hwang’s borrowing helped him amass $160 billion of publicity to shares.
His downfall occurred when Hwang was unable to fulfill margin calls, as the costs of a few of his favourite shares started falling and varied banks unloaded shares that had backed his so-called complete return swaps.
Greater than $100 billion of market worth in Hwang’s shares was worn out. A number of banks suffered losses, together with Credit score Suisse, which misplaced $5.5 billion, and Nomura Holdings. Credit score Suisse is now a part of UBS.
In in search of a 21-year time period, prosecutors known as Hwang an “unrepentant recidivist” who has proven no regret and “judged himself innocent.”
They stated a stiff sentence was wanted to alert “even essentially the most hubristic buyers” to not break the regulation.
Hwang’s legal professionals have argued that prosecutors didn’t show his alleged lies induced losses, and that Hwang’s age, well being and low danger of recidivism justified no jail time.
Their request for no punishment additionally cited Hwang’s Christian religion and his nonprofit Grace and Mercy Basis, which has since 2006 donated not less than $600 million to fight homelessness, poverty and human trafficking, amongst different causes.