Extradition of British businessman Mike Lynch to the United States

The British government said on Friday that he will stand trial in a multi-billion dollar fraud case.

By Le Figaro with AFP

published On 05/12/2023 at 11:15to update On 05/12/2023 at 11:24

British businessman Mike Lynch “It was delivered to the United StatesThe British government said on Friday, May 11, that he will go to trial in a multibillion-dollar fraud case linked to the sale of Autonomy software to HP Group.

“After a lengthy extradition process in the UK, the accused Michael Richard Lynch has finally arrived on our soil to stand trialDocuments registered in the Federal Court for the Northern District of California dated Thursday and received by AFP on Friday are added.

‘dangerous escape’

These documents also indicate that Mike Lynch will have to post a $100 million bond for his release, as he is deemed to offer “risk of leakageHe will have to reside in or around San Francisco and be guarded at all times by a security company, setting the conditions for bail outlined in the document. A spokesperson for Mike Lynch, contacted by AFP, declined to comment.

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Mike Lynch had lost his appeal to the British courts against his extradition to the United States on 21 April. He is accused of defrauding billions of dollars in the sale of British software publisher Autonomy to the US group Hewlett Packard (HP) for more than $11 billion in 2011. The proceeding includes a civilian component in the United Kingdom. Plus a criminal component in the United States. In this context, in January 2022, the British government signed an extradition order for Mr. Lynch.

He was accused of falsifying his accounts

A year after the deal at issue in the case, HP has accused Autonomy of falsifying its accounts, after discovering what the US group presents as “Major accounting irregularitiesHP blamed former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch and the company’s former CFO Sushovan Hussain, among others, for artificially inflating the company’s revenue, revenue growth, and margins.

The American group then spent nearly $9 billion in depreciation, of which more than $5 billion was provided as a result of accounting manipulations committed within Autonomy prior to the deal. HP has demanded that the High Court of Justice in London repay this $5 billion to the two former Home Rule leaders. Sochovan Hussain has already been sentenced to imprisonment in the United States and prison.