Enlarge / Mike Lynch, former chief executive officer of Autonomy Corp., departs from his extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, UK., on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. (credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images)
After years of wrangling, HP has won its civil fraud case against Autonomy founder and chief executive Paul Lynch. The ruling , the biggest civil fraud trial in UK history, came just hours before UK home secretary approved Lynch’s extradition to the United States, where he faces further fraud charges.
The UK’s High Court found that HP had “substantially succeeded” in proving that Autonomy executives had fraudulently boosted the firm’s reported revenue, earnings, and value. HP paid $11 billion for the firm back in 2011 and later announced a $8. 8 billion write-down of the value. In court, HP claimed damages of $5 billion, but the judge said the total amount due would be “considerably less” and announced at a later date. Kelwin Nicholls, Lynch’s lawyer and a partner in law firm Clifford Chance, said his client intends to appeal the High Court ruling. In the later statement, Nicholls said his client would also appeal the particular extradition order in the UK’s High Court.
This week’s events are the latest twist in an extradition process that began in November 2019, when the US Embassy in Greater london submitted a request for Lynch to face trial in typically the United States on 17 counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, plus securities fraud. Lynch denies all charges against him. Nicholas Ryder, professor in financial crime from the University of the West associated with England describes it as the “Colt-45 for the US Department regarding Justice”—an all-pervasive and powerful move. “That’s their go-to charge. The ramifications for Mr. Lynch are significant. ”
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