HANNAH MCKAY/Reuters
U.S. prosecutors want the 55-year-old to stand trial on 17 counts, including securities fraud, connected to the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in a $11 billion deal in 2011.HP has already sued Lynch and Autonomy’s former finance chief, Sushovan Hussain, in London for $5 billion, claiming they fraudulently inflated the company’s value before the sale.
“We say this case belongs here in Britain; it concerns events, the overwhelming majority of which occurred in the United Kingdom, involving a British citizen with strong lifelong connections to the United Kingdom in relation to a UK company whose shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange,” he said.
He said the court had a duty to ensure the United States didn’t overreach itself and improperly assert its jurisdiction worldwide.“The Department of Justice can’t usurp the role of British law enforcement authorities and UK courts,” he said.