Mike Lynch, former CEO of Autonomy.
Hollie Adams | Bloomberg via Getty Images
LONDON — British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is set to be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges related to the sale of his company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard, after a ruling made by U.K. interior minister Priti Patel.
Lynch sold his software start-up Autonomy to Hewlett Packard in 2011 for $11.7 billion.
One year later, HP announced an $8.8 billion writedown on the company, claiming that “accounting irregularities” led it to pay too much for the firm.
Earlier Friday, a British judge ruled in favor of HP in a civil case against Lynch over claims he plotted to inflate the value of Autonomy before it was bought by HP.
HP won the majority of the charges, Justice Robert Hildyard said, though the damages would be significantly lower than the $5 billion sought by the company.
On Friday, the U.K. Home Office said it had decided to approve U S. demands to have Lynch extradited. Patel had until midnight to make the decision. Lynch, who denies the allegations, can appeal the ruling.
