Lynch Estate Ordered to Pay $1.8B in Autonomy Fraud Case

0:00A UK high court judge has ruled that the estate of British tech mogul Mike Lynch must pay Hewlett Packard 920 million pounds, about 1.8 billion dollars in damages. This stems from the fraudulent sale of his software company Autonomy more than a decade ago. The order comes two years after Lynch died in a super yacht sinking off Sicily. Lynch, often called Britain's Bill Gates, sold Autonomy to HP for 7 billion pounds back in 2011. HP later accused him of inflating the company's value, leading to lawsuits on both sides of the Atlantic. Lynch beat criminal fraud charges in the US this year, just before the yacht tragedy that also claimed his 18-year-old daughter. The massive award, including interest and legal costs, will bankrupt Lynch's estate, valued by his lawyers at $450 million. His widow Angela Bacara's Lynch survived the sinking and holds her own substantial assets, though it's unclear if HP will chase her for any shortfall.

1:00The judge rejected the estate's request for permission to appeal, but Lynch's family plans to fight on at the court of appeal. They argue HP exaggerated its claims, while HP welcomes the ruling as a step toward resolution. A former Autonomy executive settled separately for 77 million pounds. Meanwhile, separate lawsuits continue, including one against Bacara's Lynch by the yacht's Italian builder for 400 million pounds. This long-running saga shows no signs of fully ending just yet. You've been listening to Sydney News today, AI-powered local news.