An investigation has been launched into the captain of Mike Lynch's yacht, which sunk off the coast of Sicily, killing six. At the same time, Lynch's colleague died in a car accident.
The incidents occurred just a month after Lynch and colleague Stephen Chamberlain were acquitted of charges related to alleged fraud. The charges stemmed from the sale of Lynch's company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard; Chamberlain was the vice president of finance for Autonomy.
Tech entrepreneur Lynch died in the shipwreck alongside his daughter Hannah Lynch, Morgan Stanley Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judith, lawyer Christopher Morvillo, and his wife, Neda.
Shockingly on the same day, Lynch's colleague Chamberlain was struck by a car and hospitalized while jogging in Cambridgeshire, England. He later died after being placed on life support.
An Italian prosecutor has since said that the deceased may have died while they were asleep, when the yacht — named the Bayesian — capsized in a storm off the coast of Italy.
The victims "were asleep whereas the others weren't," Rear Admiral Raffaele Cammarano, the prosecutor, said, according to the Guardian.
Among the 15 survivors was ship captain James Cutfield, who is now under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck, the Independent reported. The 51-year-old New Zealand native insisted the crew "didn't see [the storm] coming" during a reported two hours of questioning.
Investigators also said that strong winds could have contributed to the sinking of the 56-meter luxury yacht, which was interestingly deemed "unsinkable" by its manufacturer.
Shockingly on the same day, Lynch's colleague Chamberlain was struck by a car and hospitalized while jogging in Cambridgeshire, England. He later died after being placed on life support.
Chamberlain was hit by a 49-year-old woman driving a Vauxhall Corsa driving down a road adjacent to the runner's narrow path.
The woman lives in the village of Haddenham and stopped at the scene to attempt to assist police with the victim, the Daily Mail said.
Despite the incident's peculiar timing, police said there was no evidence of "suspicious or untoward" conduct.
Fraud allegations
Lynch founded software company Autonomy in 1996 and sold it to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for $11 billion, according to Fortune. The fraud scandals surrounding the deal took years to make their way through the courts, eventually culminating in former CFO Sushovan Hussain being found guilty of fraud in 2018 by an American jury.
Lynch and Chamberlain faced over a dozen charges but were acquitted of all accusations in the summer of 2024.
Through his venture capital firm, Invoke Capital, Lynch made future investments in companies, including Darktrace. This company reportedly had a large overlap of executives with Autonomy. Six out of eight top executives at Darktrace were from Autonomy, while half of its board also came from the previous venture.
Darktrace would later be accused of manipulating sales numbers, misrepresenting revenue, and mismanaging expenses. The accusations mirrored those of Autonomy, plunging shares by upwards of 17%.
Quintessential Capital Management issued a 70-page report that concluded with a statement about being "deeply skeptical" about the "validity of Darktrace's financial statements."
Darktrace replied by saying they had "rigorous controls in place."
After years of up-and-down stock prices, Darktrace soared 24% thanks to its artificial intelligence-backed products. In April 2024, Thoma Bravo purchased the company for $5.3 billion.
The deaths of the entrepreneurs, along with the attorney and high-level banker, will certainly raise further questions about the incidents, whether they are a result of a spectacular coincidence or not.
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