A few months ago, Mike Lynch, a wealthy British tech boss, walked out of a U.S. courtroom a free man. He had just won one of the biggest fraud cases in history, where he was accused of misleading Hewlett-Packard in a £8.64 billion deal. Lynch, who had been living under house arrest and wearing an electronic tag, was on the brink of a 25-year prison sentence. But against all odds, he was found not guilty.
Lynch, who’s sometimes called “Britain’s Bill Gates,” had feared he might die in prison. When he was cleared of all charges, he was overwhelmed with relief. He described it as being given a “second life” and was eager to embrace this new beginning. To celebrate, he threw a lavish party on his £30 million superyacht, the Bayesian.
But this second chance turned out to be a cruel twist of fate. Just weeks after his acquittal, the Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily in a freak accident. A powerful waterspout hit the yacht, which led to the tragic sinking. Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and four others are missing and feared dead.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Only days before the yacht disaster, Stephen Chamberlain, Lynch’s former colleague who was also acquitted in the same fraud case, was killed in a car accident in England. Chamberlain had been cleared of all charges, just like Lynch.
The superyacht had been meant for a joyous celebration with guests from the legal team that had defended Lynch. But instead of a party, the trip turned into a nightmare. Rescuers are now searching desperately for the missing, while Lynch’s wife Angela is recovering from injuries.
The yacht’s sudden sinking has raised many questions. Why did it sink so suddenly, even though it had withstood rough Atlantic seas before? Did the yacht’s tall mast play a role? Meanwhile, the investigation into the disaster continues, as officials and family members hope for answers.
