Extradition is taking a ‘tremendous toll’, says Autonomy tycoon Mike Lynch
Extradition takes a ‘massive toll’: Tycoon Mike Lynch speaks out on the ordeal of the US fraud confrontation
A British tech tycoon controversially extradited to the US says he is taking a ‘massive toll’ – and warned his fate could affect ‘any British businessman’.
Mike Lynch, founder of software company Autonomy, is awaiting trial for fraud in connection with the sale of his company for £9bn to US giant Hewlett Packard in 2011.
Lynch is the latest victim of what critics say is a “truly awful” unilateral treaty with the US agreed by Tony Blair’s Labor government in 2003.
He is in San Francisco for a trial that could result in up to 20 years in prison.
In a letter to friends seen by the Mail, Lynch described being handcuffed before his flight from the UK last week.
Trial: Mike Lynch, founder of software company Autonomy, has been charged with fraud in connection with the sale of his company for £9 billion to US giant Hewlett Packard in 2011
Strict bail conditions were imposed upon arrival in the US. He spent a night in custody and was transferred to temporary accommodation, where he was unable to leave except to see lawyers.
Lynch said: “This is the reality of extradition to the US, which every British businessman can face.”
Critics of the treaty, signed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, say it disproportionately affected British white-collar criminals.
David Davis, the former Tory Home Secretary who has taken up the case, has warned it means an entrepreneur could be “seized from our shores”.
He said three times as many had been sent to stand trial in the US as the other way.
Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares and two children have remained in Britain. The businessman wrote, “The pressure of taking on a fight of this magnitude is taking a huge toll on me and my family.”
He added, “As I leave Angela and the girls behind, I ask you to put your metaphorical arms around them. Their trial is no easier than mine and it is for them that I continue to fight.’
Lynch’s treatment contrasts with that of Anne Sacoolas, the US diplomat who killed teenage Harry Dunn in a road accident in the UK.
An attempt to extradite her was rejected and she received a suspended sentence via video link while she remained in the US.
Lynch, 57, had no options to appeal against extradition last month.
A British court ruled in 2022 that Lynch Hewlett had defrauded Packard by driving up the value of Autonomy.
Lynch had said HP didn’t know what it was doing with Autonomy and didn’t really understand its technology.