NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - Jury selection is expected

to wrap up Thursday in the criminal racketeering trial of Sung

Kook "Bill" Hwang over the 2021 collapse of his $36 billion fund

Archegos Capital Management, setting the stage for opening

statements and witness testimony next week.

Prosecutors, Hwang's lawyers and U.S. District Judge Alvin

Hellerstein will have a chance to question potential jurors in

Manhattan federal court about their backgrounds and potential

biases, a process known as voir dire. Twelve jurors and four

alternate jurors will ultimately be chosen.

The potential jurors were already screened Wednesday to make

sure they can serve the full length of the trial, which could

last up to eight weeks.

The trial will delve into the implosion of Hwang's lightly

regulated family investment office Archegos, which prosecutors

allege caused more than $100 billion in shareholder losses at

companies in its portfolio.

Federal prosecutors accuse Hwang of using financial

contracts known as total return swaps to secretly amass outsize

stakes in multiple companies without actually holding their

stock.

His positions were so large they eclipsed that of the

companies' largest investors, driving up stock prices,

prosecutors say. At its peak, they say, Archegos had $36 billion

in assets and $160 billion of exposure to equities.

Falling stock prices in March 2021 triggered margin calls

that Archegos was unable to meet. That, in turn, led some banks

to dump the stocks backing his swaps, causing big losses for

Archegos and its lenders, such as Credit Suisse, now part of UBS

, and Nomura Holdings ( NMR ).

Prosecutors claim Hwang and former Archegos Chief Financial

Officer Patrick Halligan, who is also on trial, lied about their

holdings to sustain their business relationship with global

banks.

Hwang and Halligan are charged with racketeering conspiracy.

Hwang faces an additional 10 counts of fraud and market

manipulation, and Halligan an additional two counts of fraud.

Each count carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years.

The two men have pleaded not guilty and are expected to

argue prosecutors are pushing a novel and nonsensical market

manipulation theory.

Hwang's lawyers have described the case as the "most

aggressive open market manipulation case ever" brought by

prosecutors. Several attorneys told Reuters it may be a tough

case for the government.

Archegos head trader William Tomita and Chief Risk Officer

Scott Becker have pleaded guilty to related charges and are

expected to testify at the trial.