Mike Lynch, the founder of Autonomy, has been acquitted of all 15 fraud charges relating to the sale of his company to Hewlett Packard. Lynch plans to advocate for UK ministers to amend the extradition treaty with the US, critiqued for its one-sidedness.
Acquitted: Founder of Autonomy Mike Lynch
Mike Lynch, the founder of the software firm Autonomy, was acquitted this week on charges of fraud related to the £9 billion sale of his company to Hewlett Packard in 2011. A jury in San Francisco cleared Lynch, 58, of all 15 charges, which included one count of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud. Each count was associated with specific transactions or communications. Had he been convicted, Lynch could have faced up to 25 years in prison.
Following his acquittal, Lynch expressed his intention to persuade UK ministers to reform the extradition treaty with the US. David Davis, a Tory former shadow home secretary, also supports this initiative. Davis criticized the treaty, established by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 2003, as being one-sided. He argued that it is far easier for the US to extradite British citizens than for Britain to extradite Americans. Critics of the treaty, originally signed to target terrorists and serious criminals post-9/11, claim it disproportionately affects British white-collar suspects.
Davis, who spoke with Lynch after the verdict, confirmed that Lynch is determined to address what he describes as a “massively dysfunctional arrangement” regarding the extradition treaty. Lynch expressed his elation at the jury’s decision.
