A little over a month ago, the 184-foot yacht owned by tech millionaire Mike Lynch abruptly sank. The vessel had been anchored off the coast of Sicily for an evening of festivities when an unexpected “freak storm” arose in the vicinity. In just 16 minutes, the yacht submerged, resulting in the drowning of Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter, his lawyer, and several others.
The suddenness of the incident immediately aroused suspicion given the peculiar timing of the yacht’s sinking. Lynch and his companions were aboard the vessel to celebrate a recent legal victory: a U.S. court had acquitted Lynch of all charges two months prior in a decade-long fraud case involving the multi-billion dollar sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. Lynch had fought accusations of inflating Autonomy’s value before the sale, but the court ultimately sided with his defense.
In a development likely to intrigue conspiracy theorists, CNN reported that the yacht, named the Bayesian, might possess watertight safes containing “super-encrypted hard drives.” According to sources familiar with the local police investigation, Lynch distrusted cloud services and used these encrypted drives while sailing. These drives allegedly hold highly sensitive data related to several Western intelligence agencies.
CNN highlighted Lynch’s connections with high-level government entities, noting his associations with British, American, and other intelligence services through his various companies in the cybersecurity industry. Lynch had also advised multiple British prime ministers, including David Cameron and Theresa May, in the past.
Authorities are now working to recover and protect the sunken hard drives. Elevated security and underwater surveillance around the wreck are being implemented, with concerns that foreign governments, such as Russia and China, could target the vessel.
The story took another unusual turn with the death of Lynch’s business partner, Stephen Chamberlain, on the same day the yacht sank. Chamberlain, who was also Lynch’s co-defendant in the legal case, was fatally struck by a car while jogging on August 17th, succumbing to his injuries two days later. The driver, a 49-year-old woman, reportedly remained at the scene.
Lynch’s software company, Autonomy, was acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011, during Lynch’s tenure as CEO. Following the sale, Lynch departed from Autonomy, and the company’s operations quickly deteriorated. Accused of fraudulently inflating the company’s value, Lynch consistently blamed HP’s mismanagement post-acquisition for the company’s downfall. After extensive legal battles, a U.S. court acquitted Lynch of all charges.
Lynch’s attorney, Chris Morvillo, who had played a critical role in his legal victory against HP, also perished along with his wife when the Bayesian sank. The couple had been celebrating the favorable court decision with Lynch.
