Tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, once lauded as Britain’s answer to Bill Gates, has been extradited to the U.S. where he faces criminal fraud allegations.
What Happened: The billionaire founder is facing allegations that he duped U.S. tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE into overpaying when it struck an $11 billion deal for his software firm Autonomy in 2011.
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After fighting extradition for two years, Lynch finally arrived in San Francisco on Thursday, where he may face a possible jail term of 20 years if found guilty of the charges against him. A Californian court granted Lynch conditional release from custody, with requirements including a $100 million bond and confinement to an address in San Francisco. In addition, Lynch must cover the cost of a 24-hour security arrangement involving video monitoring and armed guards, reported The Guardian.
The tech mogul has denied all the allegations of any wrongdoing.
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Why It Matters: Last year, Hewlett-Packard emerged victorious in a six-year-long legal battle against Lynch in the U.K., with a judge ruling that Lynch had committed civil fraud by manipulating the accounts of Autonomy to overstate the company’s value. Following the allegations against Lynch, the then-U.K.’s home secretary, Priti Patel, sanctioned Lynch’s extradition to the U.S., where he was set to face charges of conspiracy and fraud over 14 counts related to accusations that his actions resulted in H.P. investors losing billions of dollars.
Autonomy’s former finance director, Sushovan Hussain, was jailed in 2019 for five years in the U.S. after being found guilty of fraud relating to the same deal.
