Renowned British technology magnate and founder of software company Autonomy Mike Lynch has been extradited to the US, marking a decisive turning point in a legal battle spanning several years.
Known colloquially as the UK's Bill Gates, Mr Lynch is now set to face a series of criminal charges, including fraud, a claim he fervently denies.
The development follows Mr Lynch's unsuccessful appeal last month, ending a nearly four-year court struggle against extradition.
“On April 21, 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,” a representative from the Home Office confirmed.
“Dr Lynch was extradited to the US on May 11.”
Mr Lynch's extradition traces back to Hewlett Packard's victory in a six-year civil fraud case against him last year, when the High Court ruled that he had manipulated Autonomy's accounts to inflate its valuation before a takeover.
The implications of this ruling were far-reaching, prompting then home secretary Priti Patel to approve the extradition of Mr Lynch, who is also the founding investor of cybersecurity behemoth Darktrace.
This controversy is not new to Autonomy. The firm's former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined millions of dollars in 2019 after being convicted of fraud and other related offences.
Conservative MP David Davis expressed concern about the decision, attributing Mr Lynch's extradition to a “dreadful” extradition treaty.
Mr Davis told BBC Radio 4's World At One that the treaty, which followed the 9/11 attacks, was initially designed to apply to terrorists, murderers and paedophiles.
But the majority of people extradited to the US from the UK under this treaty had been charged with “non-violent, mostly white-collar crimes”, he said.
The extradition, Mr Davis warned, could have a “hideously chilling effect” on future London Stock Exchange sales.
“If you were a young software writer or bio-chemist with a new drug or new treatment, and you built a company out of it, the last place now you are going to launch your company is on the London Stock Exchange,” Mr Davis said.
The High Court in London rejected Mr Lynch's appeal last month, marking the latest chapter in a legal saga that began with HP's $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011.
The deal, one of Britain's largest technology transactions, led to 17 US charges against Mr Lynch, who maintains his innocence.
Legal expert Samantha Walker said of the High Court's decision: “It is a significant blow to Lynch and his legal team, signalling the UK's willingness to co-operate with US authorities in high-profile cases like this.”
As Mr Lynch prepares for the next stage of his case, experts continue to analyse the implications of this decision for other high-profile people facing similar legal battles.
