Mr Justice Hildyard said Mr Lynch and Mr Hussain had misled Autonomy’s audit committee and Deloitte, its auditors, by disguising “fire sale” hardware deals as software at the end of financial quarters to meet sales targets.

If found guilty in the US, where he faces 17 counts of fraud in the Department of Justice’s case, Mr Lynch could face a decades-long prison term. Mr Hussain is serving a five-year prison sentence.

Why is there a row over Mike Lynch’s extradition? 

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, must decide on Friday whether to permit Mr Lynch’s extradition. His legal team had asked for her decision to be delayed until the outcome of the civil case against him was made public. 

A district judge in Westminster Magistrates’ Court last summer rejected a bid by Mr Lynch’s lawyers to stop extradition proceedings, agreeing he should be removed and referring the matter to Ms Patel. 

The judge said that Ms Patel should make a decision by Christmas, prompting the tech entrepreneur to launch a High Court challenge seeking to move the deadline until March. 

However, on Wednesday judge Jonathan Swift in the High Court rejected this latest application from Mr Lynch, ruling that the UK cannot delay until the civil case is decided, meaning a decision on his extradition must be made imminently. 

Ms Patel is due to decide on Friday, although if she approves extradition, Mr Lynch is likely to appeal.