I solely bought justice as a result of I’m wealthy

The British businessman Mike Lynch, who this June was acquitted within the US of a multi-billion pound fraud, has stated he believes he was solely capable of clear his title due to his big wealth.

Mr Lynch, 59, was going through 20 years in jail if had been convicted of the 17 prices he confronted, regarding the sale of his tech firm, Autonomy, to US agency Hewlett-Packard.

He instructed the the PM programme, on Daily News Radio 4, that although satisfied of his innocence all through, he was solely capable of show it in a US courtroom as a result of he was wealthy sufficient to pay the large authorized charges concerned.

“You shouldn’t need to have funds to protect yourself as a British citizen”, he stated.

“The reason I’m sitting here, let’s be honest, is not only because I was innocent… but because I had enough money not to be swept away by a process that’s set up to sweep you away.”

He stated most individuals, even they bought all their property, would run out of funds in a matter of months, a state of affairs that he stated “has to change.”

Mr Lynch co-founded Autonomy in Cambridge in 1996.

The software program firm expanded quickly, changing into one of many UK’s main tech corporations. Its success led to Mr Lynch as soon as being dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates.”

In 2011, {hardware} large Hewlett-Packard purchased the agency for $11bn (£8.6bn) – a deal Mr Lynch made £500m from.

The acquisition quickly unravelled although as questions have been requested in regards to the monumental price ticket.

Just a yr later, HP wrote down the worth of Autonomy – which it stated Mr Lynch had exaggerated – by $8.8bn.

Years of authorized battles adopted then, in 2018, US prosecutors introduced prices towards Mr Lynch.

They accused him of inflating the worth of the agency by utilizing backdated agreements to mislead in regards to the firm’s gross sales, stated he had hid the agency’s loss-making enterprise reselling {hardware}, and likewise accused him of intimidating or paying off individuals who raised issues.

They sought to attempt him within the US – a transfer Mr Lynch, who lives in Suffolk, resisted.

But he was finally extradited to the US in 2022 to face trial – a course of culminated in June this yr with Mr Lynch’s acquittal.

He testified in courtroom that he was not concerned within the transactions being described whereas his authorized group argued HP had did not correctly vet the deal.

Another former finance govt at Autonomy, Stephen Chamberlain, was additionally discovered not responsible.

Mr Lynch stated the second he awaited his verdict was “indescribable” and like standing “between two universes”.

“Until you hear the words, you can’t call it”, he defined.

But now that he has been acquitted, he has criticised the federal government for permitting his extradition within the first place underneath a treaty which critics – reminiscent of Mr Lynch – say makes it far too simple for British individuals to be tried within the US.

“The British government needs to defend its citizens,” he stated.

“Is it right to be sending someone to another country, especially one which has the justice system issues of the US?

“A US prosecutor has much more management over you than your native bobby within the British system.”

The charges Mr Lynch was cleared of are not the only legal proceedings arising out of the sale of Autonomy.

In 2019, Autonomy’s former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain was jailed for five years and fined millions of dollars on 16 counts of fraud, securities fraud and other charges.

In 2022, HP won a civil fraud case against Mr Lynch and Hussain heard by London’s High Court.

It is now seeking a reported $4bn.

Mr Lynch blamed that on the judge in the case being presented with untested evidence from the US.

He says now though he wants to refocus on his career in tech – saying his recent experiences have given him an interest in how AI can be used in the legal field as well as to help with with hearing loss.

“I wish to get again to what I like doing, which is innovating”, he stated.