NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - A jury was chosen on

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.

The seven women and five men include a neuroscientist, a

speech therapist and a utility company employee.

The trial before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in

Manhattan 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. It is expected to last up to eight

weeks but there are not expected to be proceedings on Fridays.

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 say 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.