UK approves extradition of Mike Lynch to US

Mike Lynch, former CEO of Autonomy.

Hollie Adams | Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures

LONDON – British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is to be extradited to america to face prison fees in reference to the sale of his firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard, following a call by British House Secretary Priti Patel.

Lynch offered his software program startup Autonomy to HP in 2011 for $11.7 billion.

A yr later, HP introduced an $8.8 billion writedown on the corporate, claiming that “accounting irregularities” triggered it to overpay for the corporate.

Earlier Friday, a British decide dominated in favor of HP in a civil case in opposition to Lynch over allegations that he deliberate to extend the worth of Autonomy earlier than HP purchased it. HP received the vast majority of the indictments, Decide Robert Hildyard mentioned, though damages can be nicely beneath the corporate’s $5 billion goal.

On Friday, Britain’s House Workplace mentioned it had determined to grant US calls for for Lynch’s extradition. Patel had till midnight to make the choice. Lynch, who denies the allegations, can attraction the decision. His attorneys say he plans to take action.

Lynch, 56, had beforehand earned a fame as one of many UK’s most profitable tech entrepreneurs. He was as soon as dubbed “Britain’s Invoice Gates” within the British press.

However claims that Lynch artificially inflated the worth of his firm earlier than sealing its acquisition by HP have largely tarnished that picture.

US authorities need him charged with securities and wire fraud in reference to the HP Autonomy deal. Final yr, a decide mentioned Lynch must be extradited to the US and gave Patel two months to approve the order.

The information is prone to misery Darktrace, the British cybersecurity agency wherein Lynch has a stake. A number of Darktrace executives beforehand labored for Autonomy. For its half, Darktrace says Lynch just isn’t concerned within the day-to-day operations of the corporate.

Darktrace was listed in London final yr and the corporate’s shares are up 60% since then. His debut was seen as a key win within the UK’s try to draw extra high-growth tech start-ups to checklist within the nation following its exit from the European Union.