British tech tycoon Mike Lynch is among the six people missing after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, The Independent understands.
The 59-year-old is known for founding Invoke Capital and Autonomy Corporation and has been in the headlines after he was cleared of charges in a high-profile fraud case.
Mr Lynch was on the boat, named Bayesian, which sank in bad weather in the early hours of Monday near the Sicilian capital Palermo.
There were 12 guests and 10 crew on board – of whom 15 have been rescued including Mr Lynch’s wife, The Independent understands.
Sources have also confirmed that Mr Lynch is the owner of the vessel.
A body, believed to be that of the superyacht’s chef, has been found, according to local media, with pictures showing a body bag being brought to shore where ambulances were stationed.
Once dubbed the “British Bill Gates”, Mr Lynch and his wife Angela Bacares were valued at £852m in 2023 by the Sunday Times Rich List.
His disappearance following the superyacht sinking comes just weeks after he was cleared of all charges by a US jury related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
Mr Lynch founded Autonomy in 1996 using technology he developed as a Cambridge student. HP claimed, just a year after the sale, that Mr Lynch had used accounting tricks to artificially inflate its value before the sale
He was then extradited to the US last May for a trial that acquitted him on all 15 counts over the 11-billion dollar (£8.64 billion) purchase of his company.
Mr Lynch said on Radio 4 that being acquitted was “indescribable” and believed he could only clear his name because of his huge wealth.
He said most people, even if they sold all their assets, would run out of funds in a matter of months, to cover the legal fees, a situation that he said “has to change.”
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Born near Chelmsford, Essex, to a nurse mother and father fireman, Mr Lynch said his father regretted not having the chance to attend university. He told LeadersIn: “He realised the importance of education so that was something that was very much fostered in my home.”
When he was 11 years old, he won a scholarship to study at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green and then studied natural sciences at the University of Cambridge.
He set up his first company in the 1980s, with a £2,000 loan from the manager of a band, producing audio products for the recording industry, The Guardian reported.
Mr Lynch has a string of accolades including being awarded an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006. That same year, he was appointed to the BBC’s board. He was also elected to former prime minister David Cameron’s council for science and technology in 2011.
A representative for Dr Lynch declined to comment.