Fraud, death and £700m: Mike Lynch’s legacy faces bankruptcy after Sicily tragedy
Businessman Mike Lynch’s estate is confronting bankruptcy after being ordered to pay £700m in a fraud case following the tycoon’s death.
The deceased tycoon’s estate has been told to pay Hewlett Packard (HP) £700million after a court case linked to the fraudulent sale of his software business Autonomy in 2011.
A High Court judge ruled that Lynch should now compensate Hewlett Packard - a ruling now passed on to his estate following his death last year.
Seven people died when the Bayesian superyacht sank off Sicily on August 19 2024, including billionaire Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18.
The ruling could mean no assets could be passed to Mr Lynch’s widow Angela Bacares – who survived the disaster, or the couple’s daughter, Esme, should an appeal prove unsuccessful.
Separate assets owned by Mr Lynch’s wife will remain unaffected by the ruling.
Mr Lynch sold Autonomy to HP for around £7bn, with the record-breaking sale becoming the largest acquisition of a British technology company in history.
However, soon after the sale, the tech giant accused Mr Lynch of fraud and sued him in the High Court.
The trip to the Italian coast saw the family celebrate Mr Lynch’s acquittal in the criminal trial, however, HP continued to peruse civil action - a case that was going through the courts at the time of the tragic sinking.
Mr Justice Hildyard said HP suffered a loss of around £646.2m linked to misleading accounting by Mr Lynch’s company, with a further £51.7m related to Lynch’s representation.
The figure is far less than HP initially sought in damages, after wiped around $8.8bn off Autonomy’s value following misleading accounting.
The ruling comes as the superyacht was taken to a Sicilian town where British and Italian investigators will carry out a full probe into the sinking.
Die 56 Meter lange Segelyacht Bayesian ex Salute, gebaut von Perini Navi, sank am 19. August 2024 in einem Tornado vor Palermo, Sizilien, Italien mit Owner Mike Lynch is among the five p. Picture: Alamy
The vessel was held above the water by one of Europe’s most powerful floating sea cranes, which set off from the fishing village Porticello at around 1.10pm local time.It was held in front of the crane as it moved.
The vessel arrived in Termini Imerese, a town around 12 milies away at just after 3pm on Sunday.
It will then be moved into a specially manufactured steel cradle, which has a tarpaulin underneath for pollution prevention.
Salvage workers on site, not accompanying the vessel to port, are conducting a “full sweep” of the seabed near Porticello for any potential debris, a project insider said.Italian prosecutors previously said raising and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key information for its investigation into the sinking.
Tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Picture: Alamy
It will also aid the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report on what happened.
Simon Graves, an MAIB investigator, previously told the PA news agency: “When the wreck is brought ashore, we’ll be completing a full examination of the wreck and we’ll be finding out all of the elements that might have contributed to the safety of the vessel.”
Further details such as “escape routes” will be included in its final report on the sinking, according to Mr Graves, who added: “Once we get access to the vessel we’ll be able to tell a fuller picture of activities on board and the sequence of events.”
The vessel was originally expected to be raised last month but salvage efforts were delayed after a diver died during underwater work on May 9, prompting greater use of remote-controlled equipment.
About 70 specialist personnel had been mobilised to Porticello from across Europe to work on the recovery operation.
Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals.
Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Head of Investigations
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