Mike Lynch, the billionaire founder of British software group Autonomy, has been extradited to the US after losing his appeal in the High Court last month.
lynch he faces a criminal trial in California on more than 17 charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud related to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011. Lynch has always denied any wrongdoing.
The criminal case centers on claims that the software group’s accounts were manipulated, leading the Silicon Valley company to pay an extra $5 billion when it acquired Autonomy in 2011. Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, era condemned in the United States in 2018 and is serving five years in prison.
Lynch fought his extradition to the US for nearly four years through UK courts, but lost his final appeal in April and arrived in California Thursday on a commercial flight accompanied by US marshals.
A California judge ordered Lynch to post $100 million bail secured by $50 million in cash or stock following a hearing shortly after his arrival in San Francisco. Lynch pleaded not guilty and will be jailed until bail conditions are met.
Judge Charles Breyer of the United States District Court in the Northern District of California, who also has chaired on the Hussain case, found that Lynch presented a “serious and substantial” flight risk because of his lack of ties to the United States and because he “has significant financial resources estimated at $450 million, which could easily support him for the remainder of his life, should he flee.”
The judge ordered Lynch to live at a San Francisco address and be watched by a private security firm, approved by the US court and paid for at his own expense. Security must include video surveillance and armed guards. He also has to hand over the travel documents.
Lynch and his attorneys should now begin preparing for his trial in San Francisco.
The businessman’s extradition is likely to raise concerns from some about the US judicial system pushing for the extradition of business executives for white-collar crimes.
Conservative MP David Davis has been highly critical of the UK-US extradition treaty, which he called a “travesty of justice” and the act signed in 2003 has been criticized by lawmakers for being weighted in favor of the United States and used to target suspected white collar and terrorist suspects.
Lynch had argued that his extradition to the US should have been refused by the UK courts because any criminal charges could be tried in the UK as Autonomy was a UK listed company and the allegations relating to the company’s accounting standards and accounting decisions United Kingdom. The Serious Fraud Office had been investigating the case and could have brought a prosecution, his lawyers argued.
Lynch also lost a separate civil High Court lawsuit last year brought against him by Hewlett Packard Enterprise over the sale of Autonomy, which covered the same charges and heard some of the same witnesses who were expected to testify in the US criminal trial.
On Friday, the UK Home Office confirmed Lynch’s extradition. “On 21 April, the High Court refused Dr Lynch permission to appeal against his extradition,” a statement read. “As a result, the normal legal deadline of 28 days for delivery in the United States applies. Dr. Lynch was extradited to the United States on May 11th.”
A spokesperson for Lynch at Invoke Capital, his investment firm that has backed tech startups including cybersecurity firm Darktrace, declined to comment. The extradition was first reported by Sky News.
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