Mike Lynch, the British technology tycoon, has been cleared of fraud over the multibillion-dollar sale of his software company Autonomy.
Well, if I say it’s surprising then I’m doubting the verdict. Which isn’t on.
Didn’t think there was any possibility of such a fair verdict in a US court against a foreigner.
Against a foreigner – still possible albeit unusual.
Against a Republican – pretty much zero.
Did the next paragraph state “Mike Lynch has donated generously to the Democrat party”?
I don’t understand why countries allow their nationals to be extradited to the US when the US will not reciprocate.
That is one of the joys – foreigners can’t.
How important was it that he took the stand himself for four days?
It’s worse than the fact that the US won’t extradite, they actively whisk citizens out of countries when they commit a serious crime. Usually death by careless driving. See cases in U.K. and Romania but I’m sure it would have happened elsewhere.
On the plus side they do put their citizens interests high up the agenda, unlike Gus O’Donnel who thought it his job to improve global welfare even at the cost of U.K. welfare. I’m incredulous that someone with such views could make it to the top of the U.K. civil service.
Andrew again: ’I’m incredulous that someone with such views could make it to the top of the U.K. civil service’
Why? It’s practically a prerequisite.
Andrew – when British civil servants found out underage English girls were being drugged, pimped and raped by Muslim paedophile gangs, the British civil service chose to side with the paedophile rape gangs.
I think it’s my job to maximise global welfare not national welfare.” He has repeated this view in a milder form in newspaper articles, and thinks that his views about immigration are in the interests of the average British person, notwithstanding some short-term losers— Augustine Thomas O’Donnell, Baron O’Donnell, GCB, FBA, FAcSS
Well you could knock me down with a feather too. I thought it was nailed on that a non-US citizen would get found guilty regardless of any pesky facts. Maybe Big Tech in the US is even less liked than foreigners.
Can you say “I was surprised” without risking a court case?
The real scandal is that he was ever on trial in the US, and the UK extradited him there.
He’s a UK citizen who was running a UK business in the UK , and sold that business to HP in a transaction negotiated and completed in the UK.
The UK authorities had already investigated and ruled ‘no crime’.
So what jurisdiction does Banana-republic land have? Do they claim the right to prosecute anyone in the world for anything they don’t like, regardless of whether it’s a crime where it was done? Glassing needed.
The US authorities – and the US Embassy in London – lie their heads off claiming a complete equivalence and, frankly, for the US the 2003 treaty is a great improvement on the 1972 treaty (hence the unanimous approval by the Senate for the 2003 treaty). Suffice it to say, as far as “equivalence” is concerned, under the old treaty, both sides had to show “probable cause” (ie prima facie evidence): under the 2003 treaty the US need only show “reasonable suspicion” concerning the crime and the UK must continue to demonstrate “probable cause”. I’m not a lawyer but in a negotiation on a contract (or treaty) a difference – or change – in wording is inserted for a reason.
The Extradition Act 2003, under which the terms of this treaty became law in the UK, was rubber-stamped by the then (Labour) government and was never (AFAIAA) debated at any length in Parliament. As has now become customary it was “timetabled” through our legislature. In any event, why should UK or US citizens have to stand trial in a foreign country in the absence of prima facie evidence submitted and ruled on in their own country? Sure it’s “effcient” but it’s not justice. Remember, the whole point of the formality of a justice system is to protect the innocent: punishing the guilty is important but should always IMHO take second place to that.
Didn’t think there was any possibility of such a fair verdict in a US court against a foreigner.
Given that US citizens can’t get a fair verdict in a US court, I’d chalk it up as an accident that most likely will not be repeated.
Just shows how badly HP screwed up the deal that they couldn’t even get a US court to side with them against a foreigner
In the UK one can sue for “Malicious Prosecution” – I wish I knew whether it can be applied to HP’s board of directors. A case where the maligned Englishman is adjudged to be innocent by an unanimous verdict of a Californian jury is a glaring example of a prosecution that was utterly unjustifiable.
As to the number of libels and slanders emanating from HP …
But Mike Lynch is probably too exhausted to take on another lawsuit.