Bill Hwang, the once-prominent Wall Street trader and founder of Archegos Capital Management, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison following his conviction for orchestrating one of the most significant market deceptions in recent financial history.
The 60-year-old former financier, who was found guilty of fraud and market manipulation in July, received his sentence from Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who drew parallels between Hwang’s crimes and those of FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried. The judge emphasised that Hwang’s actions demanded “serious punishment” given their devastating impact on the financial markets.
Evidence presented during the eight-week trial revealed Hwang’s sophisticated scheme of using secretive trading strategies to artificially inflate share prices of media and technology companies, including Discovery, Viacom, and Tencent. The scheme’s eventual collapse in March 2021 triggered a catastrophic sell-off that sent shockwaves through global equity markets.
The implosion of Archegos left a trail of destruction across Wall Street’s most prestigious institutions, with Credit Suisse, Nomura, Morgan Stanley, and UBS collectively suffering losses exceeding £10 billion. The devastating aftermath prompted major banks to overhaul their due diligence procedures.
Hwang, a South Korean-born devout Christian who arrived in the United States at 19 with limited English skills, had transformed himself into one of America’s wealthiest evangelicals. His journey from Tiger Management protégé to financial pariah marks a spectacular fall from grace in the annals of Wall Street history.
The prosecution had sought a 21-year sentence, arguing that Hwang’s fraud was “pervasive and persistent.” Despite his legal team’s pleas for leniency based on his charitable works, the court’s decision reflects the gravity of his offences and their far-reaching consequences for the financial sector.
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