Mike Lynch seeks to downplay his role in alleged autonomy fraud

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch told a US court on Thursday there were limits to what he knew as boss of software company Autonomy, as he sought to defend himself against fraud charges.

During his latest testimony hearing, Mr Lynch repeatedly claimed he did not understand some of the spreadsheets given to him as chief executive, distancing himself from allegations of impropriety.

He told the court: “The CEO doesn't do these things, you don't do the accounting, you don't do the customer support. . . You have a department that does (those things) and you establish a culture for what you want it to do.

Mr. Lynch was on the witness stand in San Francisco to defend himself against allegations that he was the “driving force” of a criminal scheme to inflate Autonomy's revenues before its takeover by HP. He pleaded not guilty.

During his cross-examination, prosecutors presented email evidence suggesting that a contract had been backdated by a member of Autonomy's sales team, which indicated that the revenue had arisen during a previous quarter.

But Mr Lynch said it was “incorrect” to suggest he had been involved in the affair, as first reported by the Financial Times.

Prosecutors also questioned Mr. Lynch about a document his team produced in preparation for an earnings conference call with investors and analysts in 2010.

The prosecution said Mr Lynch wrote “WAFFLE IT” to advise his team if they were questioned about Autonomy's operating income.

Mr. Lynch said he did not remember using that expression.