12 May 2023 , 16:37
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The British tech tycoon dubbed ‘the UK’s Bill Gates’ has been extradited to the US to face fraud charges over a £8billion takeover deal.
Mike Lynch was flown to the States after London’s High Court refused an appeal last month amid an investigation into the 2011 sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP).
The 57-year-old’s arrival in San Francisco accompanied by US Marshals on Thursday marked the latest development in the long-running legal battle.
“Dr Lynch was extradited to the US on 11 May,” the Home Office said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the billionaire declined to comment.
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Lynch is accused of overinflating the value of his software firm when he sold it to HP.
He has denied all charges.
Lynch lost an appeal last month (PA)The businessman, a founding investor in the UK cyber-security firm Darktrace, has long fought attempts by US prosecutors to stand trial in America.
According to US court documents, Lynch has been ordered to pay bail of £80 million, with authorities claiming he is a “serious risk of flight” following his years of fighting extradition.
He will be confined to an address in San Francisco, guarded by private security, which he must pay for himself.
Lynch’s net worth is estimated to be between £988m and £ 1.1 billion.
A US court filing said: “After lengthy extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom, Defendant Michael Richard Lynch has finally landed on our shores to stand trial, accompanied by the United States Marshals Service.”
Last month, Lynch lost an appeal after arguing that he should be tried in the UK instead.
The Home Office said: “On 21 April, the High Court refused Dr Lynch’s permission to appeal his extradition. As a result, the normal 28-day statutory deadline for surrender to the US applies.”
At the time of the sale in 2011, Autonomy was the UK’s biggest software company and the largest-ever takeover of a British technology business.
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HP was primarily known as a technology hardware company, and buying Autonomy aimed to diversify its business.
Lynch and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain have been mired in litigation ever since.
Hussain was jailed for five years and fined millions of dollars in 2019 on 16 counts of fraud, securities fraud and other charges.