11-08-2025
Mike Lynch ally plots comeback after serving prison sentence
The former finance chief at Mike Lynch's software company Autonomy is planning a comeback after returning from a US prison sentence.
Sushovan Hussain has recently set up a company called Liberatus to help former criminals return to the workforce.
Mr Hussain, 61, spent three and a half years in US prison in Pennsylvania after being found guilty of fraud over the £7bn sale of Autonomy. He was released last year.
Mr Lynch was cleared of his own fraud charges. He died while celebrating his freedom in the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht a year ago.
Mr Hussain said that when he returned to the UK he had experienced similar problems to many ex-offenders who often struggle to open bank accounts and obtain IDs.
He said helping people back into work would help cut the number of people reoffending, easing pressure on Britain's overcrowded prisons.
Companies House records show Mr Hussain set up and owns Liberatus – Latin for 'freed' – with his wife, Tracie. The company has also recruited former staff from Autonomy and Darktrace, the cyber security company Mr Hussain set up with Mr Lynch.
The company will be an employment agency for people with criminal records to find temporary work. It is planning a trial in Cambridge before planning to expand across the country.
Mr Hussain's plans could receive support from Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, who has pushed for more employers to hire ex-offenders.
'Over 50pc of ex-offenders reoffend within 12 months – primarily because reintegrating into society is extraordinarily difficult,' Mr Hussain said.
'Securing employment with a criminal record remains one of the most significant barriers. However, we know that for those who do find work, the reoffending rate drops to below 5pc.
'After returning to the UK from a period in US federal prison in 2024, I experienced first-hand the challenges faced by those with a record.
'I'm fortunate to be able to navigate the system in ways others can't and now I want to help those who are less able to advocate for themselves.'
'Win-win'
As Autonomy's chief financial officer, Mr Hussain was Mr Lynch's right-hand man.
After Hewlett-Packard claimed they had been defrauded over the software company's purchase, Mr Hussain was charged and found guilty on 16 counts of fraud in 2018, entering prison after losing an appeal in 2020.
He was released in early 2024, months before Mr Lynch and finance director Stephen Chamberlain secured shock acquittals.
This year he settled a UK civil case brought by HP against him and Mr Lynch. A judge later ruled that damages amounted to more than £740m, a sum that threatens to wipe out Mr Lynch's estate.
Before his death, Mr Lynch had separately mused about funding a UK version of the Innocence Project, which would finance legal defences for wrongly accused Britons.
He had also planned to investigate the Lucy Letby case, according to the Conservative MP David Davis, who knew him well.
Lord Timpson this year set up employment councils featuring major employers in an attempt to encourage more former criminals into the workforce.
Mr Hussain said: 'I echo Lord Timpson's words: this is a 'win-win situation we cannot ignore.''
