Archegos Owner Bill Hwang Arrested by Federal Agents

Federal agents arrested Bill Hwang, the owner of Archegos Capital Management, the $10 billion family office that imploded last year in a trading debacle, and his former chief financial officer on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Hwang and his former top lieutenant, Patrick Halligan, were arrested at their homes and are expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later today. The arrests were announced by Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors said the men were charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to manipulate the prices of publicly traded stocks in order to boost returns. They said the plan, which relied heavily on leverage, helped pump up the firm’s portfolio from $1.5 billion to $35 billion in a single year.

The collapse of Archegos shocked Wall Street and caused major losses for big banks and led to investigations by federal prosecutors, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators.

The arrests would mark one of the biggest Wall Street white collar prosecutions in years.