(Bloomberg) -- UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch is making a bold decision to take the stand in his own defense against criminal charges that he duped Hewlett Packard Co. into buying his software startup for $11 billion 13 years ago.

Lynch is expected to take stand as a key witness on Wednesday. His testimony could span days. 

Lynch has been accused of overstating the value of his startup Autonomy Corp. ahead of its 2011 sale to Hewlett Packard. The Silicon Valley giant took an $8.8 billion write-down on the Autonomy assets less than a year after the purchase.

It won’t be Lynch’s first time testifying about the deal. Lynch also took the stand in 2019 during a civil trial in London, which he ultimately lost. In that case, Lynch told the court that former Hewlett Packard Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman was “out of her depth” and botched the integration of the deal.

It’s rare for white-collar defendants to testify because prosecutors have wide latitude to ask them questions about the behavior, choices, conversations and motivations that gave rise to the crimes they’re charged with. Lynch faces as long as 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge against him.

Jurors in federal court in San Francisco watched as the government presented their case over roughly two months, calling witnesses including Leo Apotheker, who was Hewlett Packard’s chief executive officer when the Autonomy purchase was announced and was ousted in its aftermath in favor of Whitman.

The trial is now in its final stretch, with the two sides expected to finish presenting evidence next week. The case will then proceed to closing arguments and the jury will deliberate on a verdict.

The case is US v. Lynch, 18-cr-00577, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

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