Hewlett-Packard disputed with its auditors whether $5bn (£4bn) of a writedown in value of the software firm Autonomy could be blamed on fraud allegedly engineered by the tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, according to documents filed to a US court.
Lynch, a billionaire founder once lauded as the UK’s answer to Bill Gates, was extradited to the US in May to face criminal fraud charges over allegations that he duped HP into overpaying when it struck an $11bn deal for Autonomy in 2011.