Allianz Global Investors US (AGI US), the US hedge fund unit of German insurance giant Allianz, is to pay USD5.8 billion after pleading guilty to fraud over the collapse of its Structured Alpha funds in 2020.

Allianz Global Investors US (AGI US), the US hedge fund unit of German insurance giant Allianz, is to pay USD5.8 billion after pleading guilty to fraud over the collapse of its Structured Alpha funds in 2020.

The payment is part of a deal with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which will also see AGI US sold to Voya Investment Management.

The sale will see Voya acquire about $120 billion of assets under management as well as some of the AGI US investment teams.

Former AGI US executive Gregoire Tournant meanwhile, has been take into custody in connection with the case and charged separately for his role in the alleged scheme to defraud investors, according to a statement by Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams.

AGI US’s Structured Alpha funds, which were designed to provide protection against a market crash, lost $7 billion during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, prompting several pension plan investors to file lawsuits against Allianz.