UK Tech Mogul Acquitted in US Court

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Facts

  • British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who founded the data analytics software company Autonomy, was acquitted Thursday in a US federal court on 15 fraud charges. He was accused of illegally inflating Autonomy's revenue before selling it to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11B in 2011.1
  • The jury found Lynch not guilty on one charge of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud. The trial was part of a years-long legal battle that began when HP downgraded Autonomy's value to $8.8B within a year of the sale.2
  • Government prosecutors alleged that under Lynch's leadership, Autonomy, which was advertised as a software company, hid sales of hardware and 'paid customers to buy software' to fraudulently boost its revenue by millions.3
  • After HP devalued Autonomy, the printer-making giant split its business into two companies, HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). HPE, of which Autonomy is now a part, builds computer servers, networking equipment, and data storage systems.4
  • Following the testimony of 30 witnesses called by the prosecution, who called Lynch the 'driving force' of the alleged fraud, Lynch took the stand himself, describing them as 'a parade of witnesses I’ve never met.'3
  • Now acquitted, Lynch has said he plans to work with the UK government to reform the nation's extradition treaty with the US. When London extradited Lynch to the US last year to face trial, he faced upwards of 25 years in prison if convicted.5

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Reuters.com, 3Guardian, 4wsj.com and 5The Telegraph.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by YouTube. This acquittal shows why the UK-US extradition treaty needs reform. Since the treaty's signing in 2003, which was meant to target murderers, terrorists, and pedophiles, the vast majority of British citizens sent to America to stand trial have been non-violent, white-collar suspects. A mere accusation of non-violent offenses — without a warrant, for that matter — should not be the basis to send Britons across the ocean and into the hands of foreign prosecutors.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The 6KBW Blog. Opponents of the extradition treaty act as if it unfairly advantages the US, but that's neither true legally nor in practice. The 'reasonable suspicion' requirement for the US and the 'probable cause' requirement for the UK may sound unfair, but both countries have equal power to make and refuse requests. Depending on the year in question, the UK has also refused numerous US requests while Washington accepts nearly every one from its British counterparts.

Predictions