Former Autonomy boss Mike Lynch acquitted in US fraud trial

7th Jun 2024 08:35

(Sharecast News) - British tech veteran Mike Lynch has been acquitted of fraud by a US jury, drawing a line under years of bitter legal dispute.

Lynch had been accused of inflating the value of Autonomy, the company he founded in 1995, when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a blockbuster $11bn deal.

He faced more than 20 years in prison if found guilty, but on Thursday a jury in San Francisco found him not guilty on all counts following a three-month trial.

Lynch had denied all the charges against him. In a statement afterwards, he said: "I am elated with today's victory and grateful to the jury for their attention to the facts over the last 10 weeks.

"I am most looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field."

HP's acquisition of Autonomy was one of the biggest-ever takeovers of a British tech firm. Lynch made £500m from the sale but shortly afterwards, HP wrote down the value of Autonomy by $8.8bn.

Legal action was then launched, with chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain found guilty of fraud in 2018. He served five years in prison.

Charges were brought against Lynch in 2018 by US prosecutors, who accused him of concealing losses, paying off people who raised concerns and using backdated agreements to mislead about company sales.

He was eventually extradited to the US and placed under house arrest after a UK judge ruled in favour of HP in a civil fraud case in 2022.

During the trial, however, Lynch's defence team argued that HP had mis-managed the takeover and rushed through due diligence, and the jury acquitted him on all 15 charges, including one count of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud.

Former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain, who faced the same charges, was also acquitted on all counts.

A spokesperson for the Office of the United States Attorney said: "We acknowledge and respect the verdict."