Software tycoon can be extradited to US
Autonomy founder loses bid to block extradition on fraud charges over £7bn sale to Hewlett-packard
Mike Lynch, the alleged architect of Britain’s biggest ever corporate fraud, has suffered a crucial defeat in his fight against extradition to the US. The entrepreneur, who is wanted on charges of fraud over the sale of his software company, Autonomy, a decade ago, moved a step closer to trial on American soil after a judge said it was “in the interests of justice” to extradite him. Dr Lynch denies the charges. David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, criticised the decision.
MIKE LYNCH, the alleged architect of Britain’s biggest ever corporate fraud, has suffered a crucial defeat in his fight against extradition to America as he seeks to avoid potentially decades in prison.
Dr Lynch, who is wanted on charges of fraud over the sale of his software company Autonomy, moved a step closer to trial on US soil after District Judge Michael Snow said it is “in the interests of justice” to extradite him. Dr Lynch denies the charges. Former ministers attacked the decision, saying any allegations against Dr Lynch should be tested in the UK and that the judge has ignored upcoming evidence.
The ruling sent shares in Darktrace down 6pc. Dr Lynch is a key backer of the cyber security business and used to sit on its board.
Lawyers for Dr Lynch – who was once hailed as Britain’s answer to Bill Gates – said they expect to appeal against the decision if it is approved by the Home Secretary.
Dr Lynch, 56, faces 17 counts of fraud in the US over the $11.7bn (£8.5bn) sale of Autonomy, the FTSE 100 company he founded, to HP in 2011.
HP wrote down almost all of Autonomy’s value a year after the deal, claiming that former executives at the company had inflated its revenues and profits.
David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, said it was an “outrage” that Dr Lynch should be tried in a US court.
He said: “This is all about the purchase of our largest software company, Autonomy, from the London Stock Exchange, and a voluntary purchase by Hewlett-packard. That all happened in Britain.
“The implication of that for a business point of view is that every single purchase or contract by an American company will be adjudicated by the American court. That’s really serious post-brexit.”
Andrew Mitchell, the former international development secretary, said: “This is a bizarre, incomprehensible decision that means none of us are safe from the reach of American prosecutors.
“The Home Secretary should reflect very carefully indeed before agreeing that this extradition can go ahead.”
HP is separately suing Dr Lynch in a $5bn English civil trial, with a judgment expected in the coming months.
In a hearing at Westminster magistrates’ court yesterday, Judge Snow denied Dr Lynch’s request to delay a ruling on extradition until the civil trial ruling. His legal team had argued that
‘The Home Secretary should reflect very carefully indeed before agreeing that this extradition can go ahead’
this could be crucial to the case.
The ruling has been passed to the Home Secretary, who now has two months to approve the extradition.
Judge Snow said: “The preponderance and collective weight of the specified matters in this case satisfies me that extradition to the USA is in the interests of justice.”
The Serious Fraud Office examined HP’S allegations but decided not to pursue a case in 2015, declaring that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Chris Morvillo of Clifford Chance, a lawyer for Dr Lynch, said: “At the request of the US Department of Justice, the court has ruled that a British citizen who ran a British company listed on the London Stock Exchange should be extradited to America over allegations about his conduct in the UK.
“We say this case belongs in the UK. If the Home Secretary nonetheless decides to order extradition, Dr Lynch intends to appeal.”
MPS have repeatedly criticised a 2003 treaty with the US that opponents say gives the US disproportionate power to extradite British citizens.