Italian prosecutor eyes possible manslaughter charges in Mike Lynch yacht sinking that killed 7
Italian authorities are reportedly investigating the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht that killed British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others earlier this week.
According to local media, the public prosecutor of Termini Imerese has launched a probe into the shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide, which is equivalent to manslaughter charges.
Termini Imerese authorities didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Italian coast guard also confirmed Friday that it recovered the body of Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Sources told the Italian news agency Adnkronos that divers found most of the victims outside their cabins, indicating they fled to the opposite end of the yacht as they looked for a way to escape, according to the Guardian.
How did Mike Lynch’s Bayesian yacht sink?
Investigators think the Bayesian‘s bow was the first part of the ship to sink before capsizing on to its right side, the report added.
Italian media also said investigators are talking to the crew and looking at videos and photos before the yacht sank as well as CCTV footage of the port, the Daily Mail reported.
The superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday morning with more than 20 passengers onboard amid violent storms. In addition to Lynch and his daughter, the other victims included Morgan Stanley International chair Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, American jewelry designer Neda Morvillo; and chef Recaldo Thomas.
Authorities are looking into possible reasons Lynch’s Bayesian yacht quickly sank, when other boats nearby seemed to weather the same storm without issue.
Who was Autonomy founder Mike Lynch?
Hailed as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” Lynch was celebrating his acquittal after a lengthy fraud trial when the yacht sank.
He sold his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. But a year later, HP reported an $8.8 billion write-down that included more than $5 billion due to Autonomy, sparking the fraud allegations. While former CFO Sushovan Hussain was found guilty of fraud in 2018 by a U.S. jury, Lynch was acquitted in June on all charges.
“I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” Lynch said after the verdict.
Many of the 22 guests aboard Mike Lynch’s yacht were colleagues and friends from Autonomy and Invoke Capital, an investment firm started by Lynch and a large investor in Darktrace, a cybersecurity company in the middle of a $5 billion acquisition. The trip was meant to be a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal. The seven victims include Lynch, his teenage daughter Hannah, a Morgan Stanley executive, a top lawyer, and their spouses.
