Lynch’s predicament is in stark contrast to that of Gary McKinnon, the British computer hacker that American authorities also tried to extradite. His vulnerability was crucial to Theresa May’s decision to block the request.

Ditto the leniency shown towards the “Hound of Houndslow” Navinder Sarao, the British trader found guilty of helping to trigger one of the biggest stock market crashes of all time. An autistic recluse, Sarao’s lawyer had argued that he had innocently approached trading as “nothing more than another video game”.

Lynch is undoubtedly a talented businessman and there are factors in his favour. His basic argument of caveat emptor is not unreasonable. Hewlett-Packard carried out due diligence before the takeover yet former finance director Cathie Lesjak has admitted she never read it, and the Silicon Valley giant still went ahead with the deal as it sought a way out of its own problems at the time.

The Briton is also entitled to fear American justice, which famously doesn’t mess about when it comes to white-collar crime. Ponzi fraudster Bernie Madoff got 150 years in prison, Texan financier Allen Stanford received a 110-year stretch for similar crimes, and disgraced Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling was sent to prison for 24 years, though served only half that.

But when his argument against extradition is essentially that he won’t get a fair trial, it’s hard to be sympathetic to that. This isn’t North Korea we are talking about, it’s a federal court in northern California.

With Autonomy’s former finance chief Sushovan Hussain already serving five years in an American prison after being found guilty of accounting fraud by a US jury, the odds would now appear to be stacked against Lynch.

He can have few real complaints if Patel gives the green light for extradition.

The saga has cast a dark shadow over the UK technology scene, including recent stock market debutant Darktrace, where he is a major shareholder, for a decade now. Lynch may be forced to confront the past that made him rich.