Acquitted: Autonomy Founder Mike Lynch
Mike Lynch plans to convince ministers to reform Britain’s extradition treaty with the United States after he was cleared of fraud.
The founder of software company Autonomy was cleared this week of charges relating to the £9bn sale of his company to US giant Hewlett Packard in 2011.
Former Conservative shadow home secretary David Davis wants to team up with Lynch to call for changes to the system.
The politician has previously criticized what he says is a unilateral treaty with the United States, agreed by Tony Blair’s Labor government in 2003.
Under the rules, it is much easier for the United States to extradite British citizens than it is for Britain to extradite Americans.
Critics of the extradition treaty, signed after the 9/11 attacks with the apparent intention of catching terrorists and other serious criminals, say it has instead disproportionately affected British white-collar suspects.
Davis, who spoke to Lynch after his acquittal on Thursday night, told The Telegraph: “He said, ‘David, we have work to do to fix this extradition treaty.’ “It highlights a hugely dysfunctional agreement we have with this extradition treaty.
A San Francisco jury acquitted Lynch, 58, of all 15 counts: one count of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud, each related to specific transactions or communications. He faced up to 25 years in prison.
Lynch said he was “elated” with the verdict.
