Mike Lynch will campaign for the British who have been wrongly convicted in the US

British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch is preparing to launch a campaign to support Britons wrongfully convicted in the US following his acquittal of multi-billion dollar fraud charges.

Lynch is considering funding a British equivalent of America’s Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions in a country where only 0.4% of federal trials result in a not guilty verdict.

Last month, Lynch, 59, was acquitted by a US court of fraud in connection with the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett Packard (HP) for £7 billion. He was extradited to the US last year and has been an outspoken critic of Britain’s extradition treaty with America, which he and other opponents say is unbalanced.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Lynch said: “It must be wrong for an American prosecutor to have more power over a British citizen living in England than the British police. The system can wipe out individuals. There has to be a contrarian option that says, “Okay, the whole world thinks you’re guilty, but was that actually a fair conviction?”

Lynch faced 17 fraud and conspiracy charges by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2018 and 2019, accusing him of inflating Autonomy’s revenues. HP had written off Autonomy for $5 billion in 2012, a year after the acquisition, due to serious accounting irregularities. Lynch argued that HP mismanaged the company after the acquisition.

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office investigated Lynch but did not lay charges. He claimed that any alleged misconduct took place in Britain and should be prosecuted there. Despite his efforts to resist extradition, Lynch was transferred to California last May, where he was largely confined to a San Francisco facility, watched by armed guards and forced to wear an ankle monitor.

Describing his treatment, Lynch told how US marshals chained him up and covered his head before putting him on a plane at Heathrow. “It’s ridiculous. You’re chained up even though you’re thinking, ‘What are you going to do?’ he said.

Lynch’s acquittal after an 11-week trial was unexpected in the American legal system, where innocent verdicts are extremely rare. After the verdict, Lynch expressed his intention to campaign against current US extradition laws, telling Conservative MP David Davis: “We have work to do to get this extradition treaty right.”

Despite his acquittal, Lynch is facing damages after being found liable for fraud in a British civil case brought by HP, which is seeking up to $4 billion. Lynch plans to appeal this decision. He assured that his financial situation is secure thanks to smart technology investments from his wife, and his wealth was estimated by his lawyer last year at $450 million.

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