Autonomy founder Mike Lynch has been hit with fresh criminal charges in America on the eve of a civil trial in London over the £8.4bn sale of his software developer to Hewlett-Packard (HP).
The tycoon was charged with three counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud on top of the 14 charges already lodged by the Department of Justice. Lynch, 53, could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The new charges allege that Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice-president of finance, who is also facing separate fraud charges, used “hush money” to silence potential witnesses, misled investigators and destroyed and stole documents.
They come as Lynch prepares to fight a $5.1bn (£3.8bn) civil case brought by HP, which starts at