Former Autonomy boss sues SFO ahead of US fraud trial
Mike Lynch, the former boss of software firm Autonomy, has filed a lawsuit against the UK’s fraud agency ahead of his criminal trial in the US.
Lynch filed the claim against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) at the High Court in London today and has appointed law firm Pallas Partners to represent him, according to an update in the High Court public claims system.
City PM understands the claim relates to a request for information submitted to the SFO under the Data Protection Act 2018 by Lynch.
Both the SFO and Pallas Partners declined to comment on the claim.
News of the lawsuit comes after the British entrepreneur was extradited to the US last year on fraud charges.
The charges relate to Hewlett-Packard’s $11bn takeover of Autonomy back in 2011.
In 2022, Hewlett-Packard won a six-year civil fraud suit against Lynch after the High Court ruled that he defrauded the firm by manipulating Autonomy’s accounts to inflate its valuation ahead of the takeover.
After Lynch lost the fraud lawsuit, the then-Home Secretary, Priti Patel, approved his extradition to the US, where he faces a total of 17 fraud charges related to the matter.
Despite fighting the case, he was ultimately extradited on May 11.