Suffolk entrepreneur Mike Lynch to stand trial in USA

Mike Lynch, 58, was extradited to the US last May and is set to stand trial in San Francisco on Monday accused of 16 felony counts of fraud and conspiracy. 

The entrepreneur, who was chief executive of Autonomy and lived near Woodbridge, is defending himself in the trial alongside former vice-president Stephen Chamberlain.

Lynch was extradited to the US (Image: PA)

Proceedings revolve around HP's multi-billion pound purchase of Autonomy in 2011. 

It is claimed the American technology giant uncovered evidence that Autonomy had been "cooking the books to inflate its value after the takeover was completed".

At a civil trial in London held in 2022 the judge sided with HP, ruling that indicated the damages would be less than the $5bn (£3.9bn) that HP wanted.

In the London civil trial, Lynch maintained he never participated in any underhanded dealings at Autonomy.

If convicted on all counts by a jury, Lynch and Chamberlain each could face a sentence of more than 20 years in prison.

Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 after being convicted on 16 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

The trial targeting Lynch and Chamberlain is also expected to cast a spotlight on Meg Whitman, who was hired to become chief executive of the company. 

Tycoon Lynch denies the claims (Image: Newsquest)

Whitman dipped into her estimated fortune of $3bn to finance an unsuccessful campaign to become California governor as the Republican nominee in 2010.

She then joined HP’s board and was tapped to replace company boss Leo Apotheker, who had negotiated the Autonomy acquisition before being replaced in September 2011 just before the deal was completed.

Since being extradited, Lynch has been living under court-mandated restrictions in San Francisco, while being allowed to remain out of prison on a $100m bail bond secured by $50m dollars in cash while awaiting trial.