Billionaire Mike Lynch vanishes after yacht sinks, hours after co-defendant’s fatal accident

New Delhi: British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, renowned for founding the software giant Autonomy, has gone missing after his luxury superyacht capsized off the coast of Italy. The tragic incident occurred on Monday as Lynch was celebrating his recent legal victory in the US. His disappearance has sparked a wave of conspiracy theories online, fueled by the timing of another unusual death just hours earlier—that of his co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain.

Lynch, who spent years battling fraud charges over the $11 billion sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011, was acquitted by a San Francisco jury in June. The legal battle, which stretched over a decade, ended in Lynch's favor, clearing him of allegations that led to one of the biggest accounting scandals in recent memory.

Sorry but this is just too weird. It can't possibly be a coincidence that BOTH Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain were killed in freak accidents within a couple of days of each other. #MikeLynch #Autonomy https://t.co/eem0avGCGA

— Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺 (@katherineschof8) August 19, 2024

I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist normally, but Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain both disappearing/dying so close together after being declared innocent over the Autonomy sale definitely got me thinking this morning …

— Clive Ansell (@cliveansell) August 20, 2024

So the minute he gets a Not Guilty verdict, and starts talking about US control over UK government and UK legal processes, Mike Lynch suddenly goes missing.

Now that’s one major coincidence. https://t.co/pkrqWjhWTV

— Mike Cosgrove (@mikecosgrove) August 19, 2024

Coincidence? We don't think so...

However, the celebrations took a dark turn when Bayesian, Lynch’s superyacht, was hit by a waterspout while sailing near Sicily. The vessel had 22 passengers onboard at the time of the disaster. Fifteen people were rescued, one body was recovered, and six individuals, including Lynch, remain unaccounted for.

What are the chances?

On Monday Mike Lynch, tech entrepreneur and founder of Autonomy, one of the UK’s largest tech companies is missing following his yacht capsizing.

Stephen Chamberlain, his former VP Finance is hit by a car in Cambridgeshire on Saturday and dies.

Both were… pic.twitter.com/PvWqAqnZBH

— Miss Jo (@therealmissjo) August 19, 2024

Chamberlain, the former VP of finance at Autonomy and Lynch’s co-defendant, was killed just hours earlier when he was struck by a car while jogging. His sudden death, coupled with Lynch’s disappearance, has ignited rampant speculation online. Users on social media platform X are questioning whether these incidents could be coincidental, with some suggesting a deeper conspiracy.Comments like “This can’t be a coincidence” and “It’s just too weird” have gone viral, echoing growing suspicions about the mysterious timing of the two incidents. Authorities continue the search for the missing passengers while the online discourse grows increasingly skeptical.