Archegos Capital Management Founder Bill Hwang pleaded not guilty to fraud and other charges from the collapse of his family office, and will be freed on US$100 million bail.
In his first appearance since being arrested at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Hwang agreed to fork over US$5 million in cash and pledged two properties -- including his personal home -- to secure his bond. Wearing a face mask, green shirt and tan pants, Hwang agreed not to travel outside of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. Hwang told prosecutors that he lost his passport, so his wife will surrender her passport instead.
His co-defendant, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Halligan, also pleaded not guilty and will be freed on US$1 million bail and have limited travel. Both men will be released Wednesday. They are due back in court in lower Manhattan on May 19.
The two were charged with 11 criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, market manipulation, wire fraud and securities fraud, according to a statement from Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. They face decades in jail if found guilty. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed related civil complaints.
The size of the bail matches some of the more high-profile white-collar cases of the past year. Trump ally Tom Barrack was freed from jail for US$250 million and Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton was released for US$100 million. While those levels are high, the highest U.S. bail is believed to be US$3 billion, set in 2003 by a Texas judge for real estate heir Robert Durst, after he already jumped bail once. An appeals court later slashed the amount to US$450,000.
In addition, Galleon Group LLC’s Raj Rajaratnam was freed on US$100 million bail in 2009 and junk bond king Michael Milken faced a quarter-billion dollar demand in 1989. Bernie Madoff’s bail was set at US$10 million and he struggled to meet it, unable to find four people to co-sign for him.
Advertisement