Technology company Hewlett-Packard Enterprise has won a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against a British businessmen it accused of fraud after purchasing his software business, Autonomy, a decade ago.
The decision by the United Kingdom's High Court also removes a hurdle for the potential extradition to the United States of Autonomy's founder, British entrepreneur Michael Lynch.
Hewlett-Packard bought Autonomy in 2011 for $US11 billion ($15.73 billion) but was forced to write off most of its value the following year, in a corporate debacle that sparked a boardroom shake-up at the US company.
In its lawsuit, the company had accused Mr Lynch — and Autonomy's former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain — of artificially inflating the company's revenues and committing a "deliberate fraud over a sustained period of time".
High Court Judge Robert Hildyard delivered a summary of his conclusions in court, saying Hewlett-Packard had "substantially won" its claim against the pair for $US5 billion in damages.
Mr Lynch's legal team said the decision was "disappointing" and that he planned to appeal.
"We will study the full judgement over the coming weeks," his lawyers said in a statement.
"We note the judge's concerns over the reliability of some of HP's witnesses.
The case — believed to be the UK's biggest civil fraud trial — went to court over nine months in 2019.
Mr Hussain was convicted earlier in a US court and sentenced to five years in prison.
Mr Lynch has been battling extradition to the US, where he faces separate criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud.
He has denied the allegations, and his lawyers have said he should face any criminal proceedings in England.
The UK's extradition treaty with the US allows judges to refuse to hand over a suspect if most of the alleged wrongdoing took place in Britain.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel — who wanted to take the court's ruling into account in considering the extradition request — had a deadline of midnight Friday to make her decision.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise said it was "pleased that the judge has held [Lynch and Hussain] accountable".
The information technology company was formed in 2015 after it was split off from the Hewlett-Packard Co, which was renamed HP and retained the personal computer and printer business.
AP
