Following a 12-week trial in San Francisco, Lynch was cleared of all fraud charges by US prosecutors and is due to return to the UK.
Mike Lynch, the British businessman accused of defrauding Hewlett-Packard Co. in a takeover deal 13 years ago, has been acquitted of all 15 fraud and conspiracy charges brought against him by U.S. prosecutors.
Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, a major British start-up that was acquired by HP in 2011 for a massive $11 billion.
But a year after the deal, HP wrote down the value of the UK company by $8.8 billion, of which $5 billion was due to “accounting irregularities, disclosure failures and material misrepresentations.”
During the US trial, HP alleged Autonomy had misrepresented its financial situation – allegations Lynch denied. He is currently on trial for 12 weeks in San Francisco, where he has been cleared of all charges and is due to return to the UK.
“I am very pleased with today's verdict and thank the jury for their attention to the facts over the past 10 weeks,” Mr Lynch said after the verdict yesterday (June 6).
“I'd like to extend my sincere gratitude to my legal team who have worked tirelessly on my behalf. I look forward to returning to the UK and enjoying what I love most – my family and innovating in my field.”
The tech tycoon has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle with US authorities and is the subject of what his lawyers call a “lengthy and unfair” extradition process to the US, which he has fought hard to avoid.
Autonomy's former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was sentenced to five years in prison in the United States for fraud related to a deal with HP in 2019. He chose not to appeal the conviction.
Lynch's legal counsel, Christopher Morvillo and Brian Heberlig, said the ruling reflected a “firm rejection” of the government's “gross abuse of power” in the case.
“The evidence presented at trial conclusively proved Mike Lynch to be innocent. This verdict brings to an end 13 years of relentless attempts to pin HP's well-documented incompetence on Lynch,” they said.
“Thankfully, the truth has finally come out. We thank Mr Lynch for his trust throughout this ordeal and hope he can return to the UK so he can resume his life and continue innovating.”
Find out how emerging technology trends will shape tomorrow in our new podcast, “Future Human: The Series.” Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Autonomy co-founder Mike Lynch. Image: Royal Society (CC BY-SA 3.0)
