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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich buys INSANE new $600m yacht… having already owned one worth $1.5bn

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has reportedly splashed out $600M on a new yacht… and it’s absolutely unreal.

Abramovich is a pretty wealthy man, as you’d expect with him being in charge of Chelsea Football Club.

It was the Russian’s big-spending back in the 2000s which propelled Chelsea to elite status in Europe and he’s showing no signs of slowing down almost 20 years since he bought the club.

Abramovich is not only spending his money on players such as Kai Havertz or Romelu Lukaku, though. He’s also enjoying a fair share of it for himself – as he should!

Chelsea FC billionaire owner Roman Abramovich’s new $600 million superyacht “Solaris” is INSANE pic.twitter.com/pgd6KHNeeR — Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) August 16, 2021

Chelsea F.C. billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has a new 455-foot-long Superyacht called “Solaris.” • 8 decks • Helipad • Sleeps 36 The craziest part? Already owning a $1.5 billion, 533-ft-long Superyacht named “Eclipse,” it’s not even Abramovich’s biggest yacht. pic.twitter.com/IPrmrbdyk1 — Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 23, 2021

MORE: Romelu Lukaku reveals he told Champions League winner ‘to go to Chelsea’

Abramovich is clearly obsessed with the idea of owning a fleet of super-yachts, because why else would you fork $600M out on one when you already have another.

Is he planning to dock one in the UK and one in Australia for ease of access wherever he may be?

It may seem insane and will probably leave people with a sour taste in their mouth, but if you had that much money at your fingertips, wouldn’t you do it too?

This article first appeared on  BenchWarmers  and was syndicated with permission.

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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s stunning new £430million Solaris yacht pictured for first time

• Published : 7:18, 26 Feb 2021
• Updated : 7:18, 26 Feb 2021
• Published : Invalid Date,

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ROMAN Abramovich’s new £430million superyacht is pictured in all its glory for the first time.

The 460ft Solaris , which will have eight decks including a helicopter pad, is nearing completion.

No expense has been spared and its two advanced electric engines will make it the most powerful yacht in the world.

Solaris is almost ready for sea trials and should be handed to the Chelsea owner, 54, by the summer.

A source said: “This will be the yacht of the year when she is launched later this year.”

The yacht is being built at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany.

The shed it is being constructed in is larger than Buckingham Palace.

Solaris will have 48 cabins, accommodating up to 36 passengers, and a crew of 60.

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But Abramovich , who already has £475million superyacht Eclipse , will not be setting sail for Britain often as he has visa issues over his Russia links.

The source added: "Details are being kept top secret but she will be a magnificent addition for the owner.

'To give you an idea of the size of Solaris the yacht shed she is being built in is bigger and taller than Buckingham Palace so you have some idea of the dimensions.''

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Roman Abramovich's superyacht has missile defence system and anti-paparazzi lasers

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's yacht, Eclipse, has modern tech to protect guests, from bullet-proof windows toa missile-detection system and even a mini escape submarine

• 12:26, 11 Mar 2022

Roman Abramovich has two prized assets that look out of reach - his enormous superyachts.

The Chelsea owner has been hit by sanctions from the UK government and faces the prospect of having £3.2billion of assets in this country frozen after being identified as having links to Vladimir Putin and the Russian state.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said yesterday that oligarchs like Abramovich have "no place in our society or economy", adding: "The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame."

Abramovich, who according to The Sunday Times Rich List is worth a staggering £10.2billion, has a property empire across the world, including a west London mansion, Colorado ski-ranch and chateau on the French Riviera.

The Chelsea owner has a collection of helicopters and commercial-sized planes valued at around £400m, which includes his customised jet nicknamed "Bandit".

Abramovich also boasts a huge collection of supercars worth more than £16m and even splashed out £285,000 just on a number plate.

But the Russian billionaire is really known for being the world's greatest spender on luxury yachts, maintaining a fleet which was dubbed 'Abramovich's Navy'.

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Abramovich, who used to have a vast collection of super yachts, now only has two but they completely dwarf his old ones in size.

The crown jewel is Abramovich's 533ft super yacht Eclipse, which at the time of launch was the largest privately owned superyacht in the world.

Eclipse was originally contracted at a price of around £500million but is now known as 'the $1.5billion yacht'.

Winning the record Euromillions jackpot of £189million five times over would still not give you enough cash to purchase Abramovich's vessel.

Weighing in at 13,564 tons, Eclipse was the world'largest private yacht for around three years until the Azzam was built in 2013.

Designed by French architect Hermidas Atabeyki, it was built by Blohm and Voss in 2010, with the interior kitted out by Terence Disdale.

There is more accommodation for crew than guests, with 35 of the 53 cabins for the workers, who also get their own private cinema.

The superyacht has enough space on board for two helipads, an aquarium, multiple hot tubs, disco hall and two separate swimming pools.

One of the pools is the biggest ever placed on a private yacht and can be drained out to become a dance floor.

But most interesting of all is the modern technology Eclipse is kitted out with to give its guests privacy and protection from all sorts of threats.

Abramovich's yacht has anti-paparazzi lasers, which can detect the electronic light sensors that cameras use before they even flash.

They target the cameras with beams of infrared light which overexposes the photos, rendering them useless to anyone trying to get a snap, although it doesn't work on an old-fashioned mechanical camera.

There is also bullet-proof glass and armour-plating around Abramovich's personal quarters and a mini submarine that fits three people and could be used as an escape pod.

The newest addition to his fleet is the £430million Solaris, a 430ft vessel which took to the seas for the first time last year.

It is the most costly custom-made superyacht ever built with 48 cabins across eight decks, a crew of 60 and space for 36 guests.

To put into perspective how large Solaris is, the superyacht is bigger and taller than Buckingham Palace.

Abramovich has cut down to just two superyachts, but previously owned an entire fleet which he would loan out to his pals.

The two biggest were Pelorus and Luna, which were both 377ft and cost £274million and £276million respectively.

Pelorus was given to his second wife, Irina Vyacheslavovna Abramovich, as part of their divorce settlement in 2009 while Luna was sold to a close friend, Azerbaijani-born billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, in April 2014.

Luna had been his replacement for the £110million and 371ft Le Grand Bleu, as both were expedition yachts with stronger hulls capable of providing comfort while navigating through high seas and inhospitable climates such as the North and South Poles.

Other vessels owned by the billionaire include the £110million Ecstasea (282ft) and £16million Sussurro (162ft).

Some of the yachts have been loaned out to some of Chelsea's players, including John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

After Chelsea won the Premier League in 2005, Terry and Lampard were given use of the Pelorus as a 'bonus', then two years later Terry and his wife Toni set sail on the yacht for their honeymoon.

On Thursday it was announced that a further seven oligarchs would be sanctioned by the UK government over their links to Putin amid his war on Ukraine .

Giving a warning, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin's vicious assault on Ukraine.

"We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies."

One of the oligarchs, Igor Sechin, has already seen his 289-ft yacht 'Amore Vero' seized by French custom officers near Marseille after being sanctioned by the European Union .

But it seems Abramovich is making sure that no one will be able to get their hands on his superyachts.

Eclipse was moored in Barcelona last week but is now in open sea off the coast of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

While Solaris was last spotted off the Sicily coast and is now believed to be heading to Israel, which is where Abramovich holds citizenship.

A spokesperson for the Russian billionaire said: "We never comment on the movements of the yacht or any other vehicles or vessels."

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Where are Roman Abramovich's yachts as Chelsea owner has assets frozen by UK government

Chelsea news: The Russian billionaire has owned a number of yachts in recent years with the movements of them all known using tracking data

• 11:23, 10 MAR 2022

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Roman Abramovich has owned a number of super yachts during his time as Chelsea owner.

And it is always interesting to note where in the world they are located during the year.

That is even more pertinent now, given the Russian oligarch has been sanctioned by the UK government for reported close ties with Vladimir Putin, which Abramovich vehemently denies, and had his assets frozen.

That would appear to rule out the sale of the football cub , which Abramovich confirmed was his intention last week, although the Blues could still be sold if the UK government take the lead in selling it .

So where in the world are the two super-yachts that we know are linked to Abramovich now?

The £448million Eclipse yacht, that Abramovich bought in 2010 has been cruising in the Caribbean Sea near the British Virgin Islands for the past week.

However, Abramovich's £456million newer yacht Solaris has recently been moved.

According to Reuters , the super-yacht had been in Barcelona undergoing repairs, but was moved on Tuesday evening, with Marine Traffic saying it is now cruising in the Mediterranean near Sicily.

A spokeswoman for Abramovich told Reuters: "We never comment on the movements of the yacht or any other vehicles or vessels."

Abramovich had all of his assets frozen by the UK government on Thursday, with the club banned from selling tickets to home or away fans.

Stamford Bridge will only host season ticket holders moving forward, but the club shop also closed and any contract talks or transfers placed on hold.

For all the latest Abramovich news as it happens, check out our live blog right here .

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Roman Abramovich’s luxury yachts, from Chelsea owner’s new £430m Solaris to the £1BILLION Eclipse

• Published : 4:37 ET, Mar 9 2022
• Updated : 4:43 ET, Mar 10 2022
• Published : Invalid Date,

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH certainly doesn't do things in halves.

The Chelsea owner, worth a cool £10bn, was sanctioned by the UK government as part of attempts to crackdown on wealthy Russians with assets in the UK - but what yachts does he own?

The Russian, 55, who has faced calls to be barred from owning Chelsea and his £152m home amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine , must love travelling by sea.

He has had a private navy of yachts - with SunSport believing Solaris to be his EIGHTH over the years.

The latest yacht was completed last year and is believed to have cost £430million to build .

A 460ft beast of the sea, it features eight decks, as well as a helicopter pad and was seen cruising the French Riviera last summer.

The yacht was built at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany and the shed it was constructed in was larger than Buckingham Palace.

Solaris has 48 cabins, accommodating up to 36 passengers, and a crew of 60 plus and boasts two advanced engines to be the most powerful yacht in the world.

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Roman's current superyacht , the Eclipse - with all the work that's been done to it - is said to now be worth £1billion.

Built in 2010, it was completely rebuilt in 2015 to cater for the high-spec needs of a multi-billionaire.

Incredibly, the 553ft Eclipse has its own missile defence system - should it come under attack.

There are 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools, hot tubs, a sauna, and even a nightclub.

It also boasts a cinema, conference room, children's playroom, hair salon, and a mini-submarine that can dive to 50m. Yes, that's right. It's a yacht that boasts its own submarine.

LE GRAND BLEU

Worth £135million, Le Grand Bleu was once Roman's pride and joy.

Twenty guests can stay in luxury onboard, and enjoy it's many amenities.

Astonishingly, as is the theme with these yachts, there are more boats on board.

As well as a 73-foot sailboat, guests can also enjoy taking a 68-foot powerboat for a spin. And there are two more boats in its internal garage on top of that.

It is now owned by Abramovich's friend Eugene Schvidler.

Currently available to buy for £16million, the Sussurro is now over 20 years old.

It was built by Feadship, measures over 163 feet long and boasts six luxury cabins that can house 12 guests.

Rarely used, it has been reported that the Sussorro was given to Roman's ex-wife Irina Malandina, as part of a divorce settlement.

With 15,000 combined horsepower, it is capable of reaching speeds of 46 knots.

Valued at around £110million, the Ecstasea is still one of the fastest superyachts around - boasting 43,000 horsepower and measuring 282-feet.

Abramovich was the original owner from 2004, before it was sold to Pakistani businessman Alshair Fiyaz in 2009.

There's room for 14 guests, can be staffed by a crew of 25, and can be reached by helicopter, which can park on one of two helipads.

The Ecstasea suffered damage in 2019 when it clipped the Simpson Bay Bridge in the Caribbean island of St Maarten.

So that's what £270million gets you.

Built in 2003, the 377-foot long Pelorus was briefly owned by a Saudi Arabian businessman before Abramovich got his hands on it in 2004.

A year later, he lent it to Chelsea legends John Terry and Frank Lampard for two weeks as a bonus for helping the club win Roman's first Premier League as owner.

Then in 2007 he allowed Terry and his wife Toni to enjoy their honeymoon on board.

However, it was also reportedly handed to Irina in the divorce settlement, who sold it to American film exec David Geffen in 2011.

Currently the second largest expedition yacht in the world, the Luna was delivered to Roman in 2010.

It boats 10 VIP cabins, that are 100 square metres each, as well as a 20-metre outdoor pool.

Like the Eclipse, it also has an anti-missile system, as well as bulletproof windows.

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In 2014, it was sold to Azerbaijani billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov for £210 million.

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What more does it need? Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's £1.5billion mega-yacht which is twice the length of a football pitch is renovated in Germany

• Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich's £1.5billion mega-yacht currently undergoing renovations in Germany
• Pictured in dry dock in Hamburg, the Russian oligarch's 557ft-boat is the second-largest yacht in the world
• It features a mini-submarine, two swimming pools, 30 cabins, two helicopter pads and a missile defence system

By Corey Charlton for MailOnline

Published: 07:40 EDT, 17 February 2015 | Updated: 14:28 EDT, 17 February 2015

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The 557ft luxury yacht owned by Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been docked in Germany in order to undergo renovations.

Pictured at Hamburg's Blohm Voss shipbuilders where it was originally built in 2010 and 2011, the ship has been placed into a dry dock where workers have been carrying out work on various levels of the ship.

The Russian oligarch's lavish boat - named Eclipse - boasts a stunning array of high-tech gadgetry alongside the opulence which is commonly seen in billionaires' superyachts. All of this begs the question - what exactly needs renovating?

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Roman Abramovich's £1.5billion superyacht Eclipse is pictured in dry dock in Germany where it is undergoing renovations

The mega-yacht is undergoing repairs at the German shipyard where it was built by Blohm Voss at a cost that was close to £1.5billion

For a time, Eclipse (pictured) held the title of the world's largest superyacht, but it has since been surpassed by the 590ft Azzam

For a time, the boat held the title of the world's largest superyacht, but has since been surpassed by the 590ft Azzam, which is believed to be owned by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates.

However, both are so large they have trouble fitting into the majority of the world's marinas.

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Mr Abramovich's Eclipse is 536ft long and 72.2ft wide, and has an estimated gross tonnage of 13,500GT.

She has four diesel engines and a maximum speed of 22 knots, although this speed is well surpassed by some of the newer superyacht builds.

It can accommodate 36 guests in comfort, and boasts a cinema, conference facilities, children's playroom, beauty salon, dance floor, swimming pool and sauna.

Built by Blohm Voss Shipyards and designed inside and out by Terence Disdale, Eclipse was custom-made for the Chelsea oligarch in 2010.

The incredible vessel also contains two swimming pools, two helicopter pads, a dedicated disco hall, around 30 cabins, a mini-submarine, and even a missile defence system.

Luxury lifestyle: Mr Abramovich is pictured relaxing on the yacht with several friends in this file photograph

Exactly what part of the yacht is being renovated is unclear, but is it is already equipped with a submarine, two swimming pools, and more than 30 bedrooms

A small ferry motors past the massive yacht in dry dock, which was the largest yacht in the world until it was surpassed two years ago

Built by Blohm Voss Shipyards and designed inside and out by Terence Disdale, Eclipse was custom-made for Mr Abramovich in 2010

It has armour-plating around Mr Abramovich’s master suite, bullet-proof windows and a laser system designed to dazzle long-lens photographers.

When it was ordered, the initial cost was estimated at around $500million, but by the time Mr Abramovich took delivery in 2012 it was spiralling towards the $1.5billion mark because of the extra luxury fittings and security measures.

The oligarch also owns three other mega-yachts, the Pelorus (377ft), the Ecstasea (282ft) and the Sussurro (161ft).

Mr Abramovich once lent the Pelorus to Chelsea footballers Frank Lampard and John Terry as a 'bonus' for playing well and annual running costs for his fleet are around $25million including full tanks of petrol at around $110,000 per yacht.

Close up: Mr Abramovich's Eclipse is 536ft long and 72.2ft wide, and has an estimated gross tonnage of 13,500GT

In dock: It can accommodate 36 guests in comfort, and boasts a cinema, conference facilities, children's playroom and beauty salon

Alongside Eclipse (pictured), Mr Abramovich owns three other mega-yachts, the Pelorus (377ft), the Ecstasea (282ft) and the Sussurro (161ft)

The incredible vessel also contains two helicopter pads, a dedicated disco hall, around 30 cabins, and even a missile defence system

Share or comment on this article: Chelsea's Roman Abramovich's £1.5bn mega-yacht renovated in Germany

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The New York lawyer who died in the Bayesian yacht sinking wrote a LinkedIn post months before the tragedy that ended with 'they all lived happily ever after'

• Mike Lynch's lawyer wrote a chilling LinkedIn post two months before the superyacht tragedy.
• Celebrating his client's acquittal, Christopher Morvillo wrote: "They all lived happily ever after."
• Morvillo was one of the seven people who died when the yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

Late British tech billionaire Mike Lynch 's top lawyer wrote a chilling LinkedIn post just two months before the superyacht tragedy — a note that ended with the phrase, "They all lived happily ever after."

Attorney Christopher Morvillo 's post spoke about his recent legal win in June, when Lynch, charged with fraud over the sale of his company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard, was acquitted of all charges .

His LinkedIn post discussed the "thrilling verdict" after "years of painstaking work."

He thanked members of his law firm, Clifford Chance and Steptoe LLP, with whom he worked on the case. His post also included a June 14 article from ALM, a law publication, which called him one of its "Litigators of the Week."

Then came the last two paragraphs, which touched on how happy Morvillo was to be back home with his family.

"And, finally, a huge thank you to my patient and incredible wife, Neda Morvillo, and my two strong, brilliant, and beautiful daughters, Sabrina Morvillo and Sophia Morvillo," he wrote. "None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home."

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"And they all lived happily ever after," he added.

Morvillo was one of the seven passengers killed out of the 22 people aboard Lynch's 183-foot superyacht called "Bayesian." The yacht sank during stormy weather near Palermo, Italy, on August 19.

Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, and the ship's captain, James Cutfield of New Zealand, were rescued from the sunken ship.

Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morvillo's wife Neda, and Morgan Stanley International Chair Jonathan Bloomer died in the tragedy.

Lynch's co-defendant in the fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being struck by a car just two days before Lynch's yacht sank.

Representatives for Morvillo at Clifford Chance did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

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Lynch Yacht Sinking Off Sicily Proves as Baffling as It Is Tragic

As bodies were recovered, the authorities and experts wondered how a $40 million, stable and secure vessel could have sunk so quickly.

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By Emma Bubola and Michael J. de la Merced

Emma Bubola reported from Porticello, Italy, and Michael J. de la Merced from London.

Two months after being cleared in a bruising legal battle over fraud charges, the British tech mogul Mike Lynch celebrated his freedom with a cruise. He invited his family, friends and part of his legal team on board his luxury sailing yacht, a majestic 180-foot vessel named Bayesian after the mathematical theorem around which he had built his empire.

On Sunday night, after a tour of the Gulf of Naples, including Capri, and volcanic islands in the Eolian archipelago, the boat anchored half a mile off the Sicilian coast in Porticello, Italy. It chose a stretch of water favored by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago for its protection from the mistral wind and, in more recent times, by the yachts of tech billionaires. The boat was lit “like a Christmas tree,” local residents said, standing out against the full moon.

But about 4 a.m., calamity unfolded. A violent and fast storm hit the area with some of the strongest winds locals said they had ever felt. Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman, said he saw a flare pierce the darkness shortly after 4.

Minutes later, the yacht was underwater. Only dozens of cushions from the boat’s deck and a gigantic radar from its mast floated on the surface of the sea, fishermen said.

In all, 22 people were on board, 15 of whom were rescued. Six bodies — five passengers and the ship’s cook — had been recovered by Thursday afternoon, including that of Mr. Lynch, an Italian government official said, adding that the search was continuing for his daughter.

It was a tragic and mystifying turn of events for Mr. Lynch, 59, who had spent years seeking to clear his name and was finally inaugurating a new chapter in his life. Experts wondered how a $40 million yacht, so robust and stable could have been sunk by a storm near a port within minutes.

“It drives me insane,” said Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company, Perini, that made the Bayesian. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

The aura of misfortune only deepened when it emerged that Stephen Chamberlain, 52, a former vice president of finance for Mr. Lynch’s former company and a co-defendant in the fraud case, was killed two days earlier, when he was hit by a car while jogging near his house in England.

Since June, the two men had been in a jubilant mood. A jury in San Francisco had acquitted both on fraud charges that could have sent them to prison for two decades. There were hugs and tears, and they and their legal teams went for a celebratory dinner party at a restaurant in the city, said Gary S. Lincenberg, a lawyer for Mr. Chamberlain.

The sea excursion was meant as a thank-you by Mr. Lynch to those who had helped him in his legal travails. Among the guests was Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a scion of a prominent New York family of lawyers who had represented Mr. Lynch for 12 years. He and his wife, Neda, 57, were among the missing.

So, too, was Jonathan Bloomer, 70, a veteran British insurance executive who chaired Morgan Stanley International and the insurer Hiscox.

The body of the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered. All the other crew members survived. Among them was Leo Eppel, 19, of South Africa, who was on his first yacht voyage working as a deck steward, said a friend, who asked not to be identified.

Since the sinking, the recovery effort and investigation have turned the tiny port town of Porticello, a quiet enclave where older men sit bare-chested on balconies, into what feels like the set of a movie.

Helicopters have flown overhead. Ambulances have sped by with the sirens blaring. The Coast Guard has patrolled the waters off shore, within sight of a cordoned-off dock that had been turned into an emergency headquarters.

On Wednesday afternoon, a church bell tolled after the first body bag was loaded into an ambulance, a crowd watching in silence.

The survivors were sheltering in a sprawling resort near Porticello, with a view of the shipwreck spot, and had so far declined to comment.

Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said that the yacht had most likely been hit by a fierce “down burst” — when air generated within a thunderstorm descends rapidly — or by a waterspout , similar to a tornado over water.

He added that his agency had put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about storms and strong winds. Locals said the winds “felt like an earthquake.”

Mr. Costantino, the boat executive, said the yacht had been specifically designed for having a tall mast — the second-tallest aluminum mast in the world. He said the Bayesian was an extremely safe and secure boat that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing.

But he said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, is to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

The New York Times attempted to reach the captain, James Cutfield, who had survived, for comment through social media, his brother and the management company of the yacht (which did not hire the crew), but did not make contact.

So far none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened that night.

Fabio Genco, the director of Palermo’s emergency services, who treated some of the survivors, said that the victims had recounted feeling as if the boat was being lifted, then suddenly dropped, with objects from the cabins falling on them.

The Italian Coast Guard said it had deployed a remotely operated vehicle that can prowl underwater for up to seven hours at a depth of more than 980 feet and record videos and images that they hoped would help them reconstruct the dynamics of the sinking. Such devices were used during the search and rescue operations of the Titan vessel that is believed to have imploded last summer near the wreckage of the Titanic.

After rescuers broke inside the yacht, they struggled to navigate the ropes and many pieces of furniture cluttering the vessel, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s national firefighter corps.

Finally, as of Thursday morning, they had managed to retrieve all but one of the missing bodies, and hopes of finding the missing person alive were thin. “Can a human being be underwater for two days?” Mr. Cari asked.

What was certain was that Mr. Lynch’s death was yet another cruel twist of fate for a man who had spent years seeking to clear his name.

He earned a fortune in technology and was nicknamed Britain’s Bill Gates. But for more than a decade, he had been treated as anything but a respected tech leader.

He was accused by Hewlett-Packard, the American technological pioneer that had bought his software company, Autonomy, for $11 billion, of misleading it about his company’s worth. (Hewlett-Packard wrote down the value of the transaction by about $8.8 billion, and critics called it one of the worst deals of all time .) He had been increasingly shunned by the British establishment that he sought to break into after growing up working-class outside London.

He was extradited to San Francisco to face criminal charges, and confined to house arrest and 24-hour surveillance on his dime. In a townhouse in the Pacific Heights neighborhood — with security people he jokingly told associates were his “roommates” — he spent his mornings talking with researchers whom he funded personally on new applications for artificial intelligence. Afterward, he devoted hours to discussing legal strategy with his team.

Despite his persistent claims of innocence, even those close to Mr. Lynch had believed his odds of victory were slim. Autonomy’s chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted in 2018 of similar fraud charges and spent five years in prison.

During Mr. Lynch’s house arrest, his brother and mother died. His wife, Angela Bacares, frequently flew over from England, and she became a constant presence in the San Francisco courtroom during the trial.

After he was finally acquitted, Mr. Lynch had his eye on the future. “I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” he said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Pallanza, Italy.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced

What is known about the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily and those aboard

PORTICELLO, Sicily — Specialist cave divers working in 12-minute underwater shifts were searching Tuesday for six missing passengers and crew, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, believed to be in the submerged wreck of a luxury yacht that was slammed by a powerful storm and swiftly sank off Sicily.

The sleek yacht, named the Bayesian, was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers when it suddenly sank near the Mediterranean island that is part of Italy at about 4 a.m. on Monday. One body has been recovered and 15 people survived.

Fire rescue officials have said the six believed to remain in the sailboat's hull will be considered missing until they are located in the wreckage.

Here's what we know so far about the sinking and those who were on board.

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What happened?

Italian civil protection officials believe a sudden and fierce storm that battered the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday whipped up a waterspout in the exact spot where the 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian was moored.

Karsten Borner, the captain of another yacht moored nearby, said he saw the Bayesian during the storm but when the wild weather passed it was gone and he saw only a red flare lighting the night sky, the Italian news agency ANSA and the Giornale di Sicilia newspaper reported.

Borner and one of his crew boarded their tender and found a lifeboat carrying 15 people, some of them injured. They took them aboard their yacht and alerted the coast guard.

Rescue authorities said the wreck was resting at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet) about a half mile offshore of the picturesque fishing village of Porticello.

Who was on board?

Among the missing is 59-year-old tech tycoon Mike Lynch, sometimes described as the British Bill Gates. Lynch was acquitted in June of all charges in a US fraud trial linked to the $11 billion sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

Lynch still faced a potentially huge bill stemming from a civil case in London that HP mostly won during 2022. Damages haven’t been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $4 billion. Lynch made more than $800 million from the Autonomy sale.

A Cambridge-educated mathematician, Lynch made his name running Autonomy, which made a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly.

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was reportedly among the missing. His wife, Angela Bacares, and 14 other people survived.

Among others still missing Tuesday, according to the civil protection agency, were one of Lynch’s US lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of Clifford Chance, and Morvillo’s wife, Neda. Morvillo was regarded as an elite defense lawyer and was also a federal prosecutor in New York after 9/11.

Also missing was Jonathan Bloomer, the non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy. He is the former head of the Autonomy audit committee and testified for the defense at Lynch’s trial.

Bloomer was also chair of the Hiscox Group, an insurer that does business on the Lloyd’s of London market.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event,” Hiscox CEO Aki Hussain said in a statement.

Among the survivors was Charlotte Golunski, who said she momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the water, but then managed to grab her and hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, ANSA reported. The father, identified by ANSA as James Emslie, also survived.

The Dutch foreign ministry said a Dutch man survived. The ministry, citing privacy, did not release his identity.

One body was recovered on Monday, identified as the on-board chef.

What is the Bayesian?

The Bayesian was a luxury yacht built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Nav. It was known for its single 75-meter (246-feet) aluminum mast — one of the world’s tallest. Online charter sites listed it for rent for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000) a week.

Its registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd., based on the Isle of Man, according to online maritime database Equasis. Lynch’s wife is listed as Revtom’s sole owner, according to corporate registration documents from the Isle of Man.

The yacht's name is an apparent reference to “Bayesian inference,” one of the two main approaches to statistical machine learning and the one that was used by Autonomy.

What is a waterspout?

Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water and can happen when a storm moves across warm water.

According to the US National Ocean Service, there are two types of waterspouts — fair-weather and tornadic.

Tornadic waterspouts “have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning,” the service says on its website.

While scientists haven't attributed the specific event to climate change, average monthly surface temperatures have been at record highs for months. Hotter air can hold more moisture, making heavier storms more likely.

Sicily has been baking under intense heat this summer, and the United Nations’ panel of climate change experts notes the Mediterranean Sea is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with warming rates roughly 20 percent higher than the global average.

How rare is it for a huge sailboat like this to capsize?

Experts say it is extraordinarily rare for a luxury sailboat of this size to capsize due to weather events.

“This just doesn’t happen. You know, boats sink because things like keels fall off, or they run aground and breach the hull ... whereas just from a weather angle, a boat that big being pushed over on its side is absolutely extraordinary,” said Skip Novak, a lifelong sailor who has taken part in multiple round the world yacht races and written books about sailing.

Novak said he believed that strong gusts likely pushed the yacht over 90 degrees to its side, and the vessel did not recover because of the weight of the huge mast and because it was anchored. He suggested that internal doors were likely not closed, and water quickly poured in to sink the vessel.

“When you’re at anchor, even if it’s blowing with a storm in the Mediterranean, you rarely shut the whole boat down because nobody expects something like this to happen," Novak told The Associated Press. “So if the boat wasn’t completely watertight at the deck, you’d have flooding going in. It would take a couple minutes and that would be it."

What happens next?

As the search for the missing continues, authorities already have begun trying to piece together exactly what happened.

Prosecutors from the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation, as is normal in such events even when no suspects are identified. To date, they have not commented publicly.

The British Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors were being deployed to Palermo.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writer Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

Mike Lynch and daughter among missing after yacht sinks: What we know about disaster - and 'alarming' potential cause

The British-flagged luxury vessel named Bayesian was carrying 22 people when it got into difficulty off the coast of Sicily. Seven bodies have now been recovered from the wreckage.

News reporter @samuelosborne93

Friday 23 August 2024 12:24, UK

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Seven bodies have been found after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

Twenty-two people were on board the vessel named Bayesian when it got into difficulty in the early hours of Monday, with 15 people rescued.

Here's what we know about the sinking of the luxury vessel so far.

Follow latest updates on the superyacht sinking

What might have caused the sinking?

The British-flagged luxury vessel, named Bayesian, capsized at around 4.30am local time on Monday morning off Palermo, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.

It sank in as little as 60 seconds with 22 people on board, 12 passengers and a crew of 10, according to the Italian coastguard.

Waterspouts, essentially tornados that form over water, were seen as powerful winds battered the area overnight, local media said.

The yacht may have sunk faster with all the doors open due to the hot weather, Sailing Today magazine editor Sam Jefferson has said.

"I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that," he said.

Official pictures show air conditioning units in several of the rooms, however, which could counter the suggestion open windows caused the vessel to sink faster.

The huge mast is also likely to have played a role, he added.

What are waterspouts?

Waterspouts typically occur during thunderstorms and can develop very rapidly, within minutes.

Their spin generally reaches wind speeds between 75-200mph, but can reach as high as 300mph.

They can travel at about 10-20mph typically but can reach greater speeds, making them difficult to avoid - especially in something as slow-moving as a yacht.

Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, called the reports of a tornado or waterspout "rare" and "quite alarming".

"The vessel was at anchor in a recognised anchorage," Mr Schanck said.

"Depending on wind direction and the state of the sea, this informs the captain whether it is a safe area to anchor or not. There was nothing that was too concerning, for my eye. All in all, the captain used the information they had to make a safe call."

Who owns the yacht?

The yacht belonged to the family of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch. He was confirmed to have died after rescuers found his body on Thursday. Mr Lynch was on holiday with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, who is still missing, and his wife Angela Bacares, who was rescued.

Mr Lynch, 59, was known as the " British Bill Gates " and has been in the headlines in recent months over a high-profile fraud case.

In June, a US jury cleared him of all charges, which were related to the 2011 sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP). The yacht trip is believed to have been a celebration of the end of Mr Lynch's legal troubles.

HP accused him of deliberately overstating the value of the company before it was acquired by the American tech giant.

Mr Lynch was extradited to the US to face trial in May last year and spent 13 months under house arrest in San Francisco as he awaited trial on 17 charges of conspiracy and wire fraud brought by the US Department of Justice - which were later reduced to 15 charges. He always denied any wrongdoing and was acquitted.

Read more: Lynch's co-defendant dies days before yacht sinking

Who was on board when the boat sank?

The passengers were largely British and American, with crew members were from New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.

Charlotte Golunski was among the Britons rescued. Her LinkedIn profile says she is a partner at Mr Lynch's firm Invoke Capital and has worked there since 2012.

Speaking after the ordeal, Ms Golunski told Italian media that she lost her daughter Sofia for "two seconds" amid the "fury" of the sea but was able to retrieve her. She said she held the infant above the waves until the lifeboat was ready.

"Many people screamed. Luckily the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us were able to get on board," she told ANSA.

The girl's father James Emsley also survived, according to Sicily's civil protection agency.

Also on board were Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley, his wife Judy Bloomer, a top US lawyer Chris Morvillo, who worked on Mr Lynch's criminal case, and his wife Neda Morvillo. Divers confirmed on Thursday that their bodies had been recovered.

The yacht's captain James Cutfield survived, along with South African crew members Leah Randall and Katja Chicken.

Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef who was working on the boat, was the first to be found dead, the Italian Coastguard confirmed to Sky News.

During rescue efforts, divers saw "corpses through the portholes" of the wreck as they recovered the body of a man at a depth of 50m (164ft), according to Salvo Cocina, the head of the Civil Protection of Sicily.

What do we know about the vessel?

The Bayesian is owned by a company controlled by Mr Lynch's wife.

It was known for its unusual 72.3m (246ft) single mast - one of the world's tallest made of aluminium - and shared its name with the statistical method Mr Lynch's Autonomy software was based on.

It was built by Italian company Perini Navi in 2008 and last refitted in 2020.

It was listed for rent for up to €195,000 (£166,000) a week, according to online charter sites.

The luxury vessel , which was managed by yachting company Camper & Nicholsons, could accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites.

It won a string of awards for its design, according to online specialist yacht sites.

Mr Schanck, of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, said the vessel would have been equipped with "high standard" life-saving appliances and radio communications.

He added the yacht would have met all international standards and UK Maritime Coastguard Agency regulations before its voyage.

It was previously named Salute, or "health" in Italian, when it flew under a Dutch flag. Its minimalist interior featured light wood with Japanese accents designed by the French designer Remi Tessier, according to descriptions on charter sites.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

What were its last movements?

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on 14 August and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of "at anchor", according to vessel tracking site VesselFinder.

The Bayesian previously travelled to other parts of Sicily before its last sighting off the coast of the port of Porticello.

On Sunday, the boat was seen off the coast of Cefalu before it travelled towards Porticello, MarineTraffic data shows.

In the days before, the yacht travelled around four of the Aeolian islands, just north of Sicily.

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Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation into the sinking.

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• Superyacht sinking

Sinking of a superyacht adds to questions billionaire Mike Lynch wanted to put behind him

It was a sunny August morning when software entrepreneur Mike Lynch, 59, gathered 10 of his closest friends along with his wife and daughter on the dock of Porto di Milazzo, on the northern coast of Sicily. They had come to celebrate his freedom. Only months before, several of the guests played crucial roles in persuading a San Francisco jury to acquit Lynch of federal charges related to the sale of his software firm Autonomy to HP for $11 billion. 

Five days after the yacht left port, Lynch, his daughter, four guests, and a hired chef were dead in the Mediterranean Sea after a storm flooded the ship. The drowned included the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, a star witness at Lynch’s trial, as well as one of Lynch’s lead defense attorneys. Among the survivors were a former Autonomy exec who went on to become a partner at Lynch’s venture capital firm, a second member of his defense team, and Lynch’s wife, who reportedly owns nearly all his fortune. The same day of the drowning, U.K. news outlets reported that Lynch’s codefendant in the fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, who had also been acquitted, had been fatally run over by a car as he was out jogging—a shocking coincidence.

Less than a week after the tragedy, there are far more questions than answers. Did the yacht named Bayesian —an homage to a statistical theorem for predicting future outcomes—simply fall victim to a terrible storm? How did most of the crew and a few passengers escape, and why couldn’t they reach Lynch and the six others who did not make it out? Italian officials are looking into manslaughter charges, but it’s not yet clear who they may have in their crosshairs. Giovanni Costantino, who runs the Italian Sea Group that owns Perini Navi, the Italian maker of the yacht, had harsh words for the crew, whom he blames. “This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance,” he told Reuters .

There are also huge questions swirling around the business ventures of the man dubbed the “British Bill Gates.” While the Bayesian excursion was to serve as a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal on all charges in the U.S.—where he had spent months under house arrest—the reality is that his legal troubles were far from over. In a January 2022 civil trial, the U.K.’s High Court found that the company, which by then had changed its name to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), had “substantially succeeded” in proving that Autonomy leaders had fraudulently made it look like the company was earning more revenue than it was. In 2019 Autonomy’s CFO was convicted of 16 counts and sentenced to five years in prison. At this time, the U.K. case is in a holding pattern as the judge determines what damages are owed to HPE. (The company’s spokesperson Adam Bauer says HPE is “saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who lost their lives.”)

But Lynch’s passing also looms over Invoke Capital, the venture firm he founded in 2011 and whose managing partner—Charlotte Golunski—survived the yacht disaster and saved her 1-year-old baby. One of Invoke’s most prominent bets was a 2013 seed-stage investment in Darktrace, a cybersecurity firm on whose board Lynch sat until 2018. Darktrace has developed a reputation as a sleek AI cybersecurity startup with ties to spy agencies like MI5 and the U.S. National Security Agency. It also became the target of short-sellers who in 2023 expressed doubt over Darktrace’s financial filings—the same sort of allegations that plagued Lynch’s Autonomy. 

Darktrace insists that the short-sellers’ allegations were baseless, and they say an EY audit it commissioned showed this to be the case. In April Darktrace received a $5.3 billion acquisition offer from the giant private equity firm Thoma Bravo. The deal, which Fortune reported will likely go forward despite Lynch’s death, stood to help rehabilitate Lynch’s business reputation. As of Aug. 14, he and his wife collectively owned 3.21% of the company, which would be worth some $170 million upon the deal’s completion. Invoke Capital has not responded to multiple requests for comment, and Darktrace declined to comment.

Following his U.S. acquittal, Lynch was pleased enough with the state of things that he had begun celebrating weeks before the yacht party. In the days following the not-guilty verdict, Lynch and his wife; Stephen Chamberlain and his wife; the attorney Chris Morvillo—who drowned on the Bayesian —and 20 other lawyers gathered at a restaurant at a hotel near the San Francisco courthouse.

Brian Heberlig, an attorney at Steptoe who gave the closing argument in Lynch’s trial, recalls that Morvillo gave a moving toast, telling those assembled that the trial was more than just a job, but one of their life’s works. “He really was a brilliant man,” Heberlig told Fortune , fighting back tears as he remembered Lynch. “And he ran his legal defense the same way I imagine he ran Autonomy. He let the experts do their jobs, while still having a strong grasp on the material. As he used to say, ‘Let the brain surgeons do the surgery.’”

That night was the last time Heberlig ever saw Lynch or Morvillo.

A ‘virtually unsinkable’ boat

The sailing party departed Aug. 14—five days before the storm—and comprised 12 guests and 10 crew members. The Bayesian was one of the biggest yachts of its kind. Its first stop was a cluster of small islands off the coast of Sicily. Then it jetted across the sea to the Sicilian town of Cefalù, before putting down anchor for the final time on the coast of Palermo, a favorite getaway for the rich and famous, and a former haunt for the Mafia.

Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who reportedly held the couple’s entire $1.1 billion fortune, was jolted awake on Aug. 18 as the boat began to tilt. Glass from a shattered window exploded across the deck, according to reports, cutting her feet as she ran to investigate.

Black and white security  footage  appears to show the outline of what is believed to be the 184-foot sailing yacht, which used call sign 2ICB8, slowly disappearing behind a thicker and thicker veil of rain. Nearby villagers and fishermen say they saw a sea tornado called a waterspout. Soon after, the yacht lay on the ocean floor.

Theories are swirling about why the yacht sank. One holds that a bay door was left open in the storm, causing the ship to flood and sink in minutes. Another holds that the Bayesian’ s 246-foot-tall aluminum mast—one of the tallest in the world— broke in the wind and took the boat down with it.

Most news reports say the yacht sank almost instantly, but the CEO of the company that bought the boat’s maker after it went bankrupt in 2021 disputes that. In a Financial Times report, he called the boat “virtually unsinkable,” and says that it dragged its anchor for 16 minutes before it sank. 

During those fateful moments, a far older nearby yacht, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, built in 1957, was drifting on a similar course as the Bayesian and not only survived, but also came to help. Some onboard saw a red flare shooting across the rainy sky—an emergency signal from those who had fled the doomed yacht, drawing the attention to a life raft filled with 15 of the 22 passengers.

Passenger Golunski, 35, who helped run Autonomy the first year it was at HP, described holding her 1-year old daughter Sophia as she screamed for help. One of Lynch’s most trusted employees, Golunski was a founding partner at Invoke Capital, the London-based firm that backed Darktrace. Lynch’s wife Bacares was also in the life raft along with Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald, 36, who reportedly texted to her father: “there are deaths.”

The lifeboat survivors were soon plucked from the sea while the Bayesian came to its current resting place 50 meters below the surface. Over the course of the next 72 hours, a team of scuba divers from the Guardia Costiera and specially trained cave divers from the Vigili del Fuoco, the local fire department, used boats and a helicopter to triangulate the yacht’s position. The divers, working in bursts of 8 to 12 minutes, searched the Bayesian’ s six guest suites, master suite, multiple living areas, and dining room.

The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was the first to be found, floating on the water’s surface. On Wednesday, two days after the wreck, four more bodies were discovered, and on Thursday a fifth. Among them were Lynch and Chris Morvillo of the prestigious law firm Clifford Chance, who had made the controversial decision to have Lynch testify, and questioned him on the stand right before he was acquitted. The others discovered were Morvillo’s wife, Neda, as well as the Morgan Stanley banker and key witness Jonathan Bloomer, who had been a former executive director at Autonomy, and his wife, Judy. The body of Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was pulled from the sea on Friday.

The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency tells Fortune it is in contact with the Italian authorities but would not provide further information. The U.K.’s Foreign Office told Fortune it is providing “consular support to a number of British nationals and their families…and are in contact with the local authorities.”

More questions than answers

Even as loved ones and the survivors begin to come to terms with the human toll of the tragedy, the business world has begun assessing Lynch’s complicated past and his many business dealings. 

Lynch was born of modest means to a nurse and firefighter in a suburb of London. From an early age he showed a proclivity toward technology and a fiery determination. He studied natural sciences at Cambridge, then returned for a PhD in artificial neural networks, the building blocks of artificial intelligence. When he was still studying for his PhD, he started his first venture, Cambridge Neurodynamics, monetizing computerized fingerprint recognition, eventually evolving into Autonomy. 

Founded in 1996 with David Tabizel and Richard Gaunt, Autonomy used an early version of artificial intelligence to quickly scan what’s known as “unstructured data,” especially including language. Autonomy quickly became a darling of the U.K.’s fledgling tech scene, and it was seen as a crowning achievement when, in 2011, the company struck an $11 billion deal to be purchased by HP, now HPE. The deal, however, was quickly engulfed in scandal when a year later the new owner alleged accounting fraud and wrote down its investment by $8.8 billion.

Despite the baggage around Autonomy, Lynch continued to ride high in the tech world through his venture firm, Invoke Capital, which he founded in 2012. One of its most profitable investments was Darktrace, which he backed in 2013 and joined as a board member. By 2016 he told TechCrunch that 60 employees from Autonomy were working at Invoke, that he’d raised a billion dollars to invest in startups, and that Darktrace was worth $500 million.

While fighting the legal battle over Autonomy and building Invoke, Lynch enjoyed the trappings of a mogul. The same year he announced his billion-dollar startup fund, he was sailing the Bayesian , worth an estimated $25 million. He reportedly also owned a $6 million, 69-acre Georgian manor.

By early 2020 Darktrace shared deep connections with Autonomy, including half of Darktrace’s board and six of its eight top executives. The following year Darktrace went public, soaring 40% above its pre-market value. But the victory lap was brief. In September 2022, an acquisition talk between private equity firm Thoma Bravo and Darktrace fell through , sending share prices tumbling. In early 2023, the short-selling firm Quintessential Capital Management published a 70-page report accusing Darktrace of similar misconduct that had sunk Autonomy.

“We are deeply skeptical about the validity of Darktrace’s financial statements,” the report read. Darktrace’s shares plunged as much as 17% after the report was published, though the company said at the time that the management team and board had “rigorous controls in place.” Darktrace hired EY to perform an audit, which stabilized its share price after the accounting firm found the company’s earlier financial results did not need to be restated. Darktrace never publicly released the report, however, with a spokesperson saying at the time that it contained “commercially sensitive information.”

More recently, Darktrace’s CEO Poppy Gustafsson wrote in the firm’s Q4 trading report of “shareholders voting overwhelmingly in favour” of the acquisition, and added the company is “awaiting the conclusion of the remaining regulatory processes.”

Until very recently, Darktrace had sought to distance itself from Lynch and his VC firm. In December, shareholders passed a resolution that rejected Invoke non-executive director Patrick Jacob’s reappointment to its board. This April, Invoke lost the right to that same board seat when it was discovered its shares had fallen below the required 10% threshold. Nonetheless, in a memorial to Lynch, Gustafsson wrote : “Without Mike, there would be no Darktrace. We owe him so much.”

While the Italian authorities continue to investigate the crash site, one thing is certain: The swirl of legal and business battles that surrounded Lynch during his lifetime are likely to continue after his death. A local Italian news site reports that the public prosecutor’s office in a nearby town, Termini Imerese, is looking into allegations of manslaughter surrounding the sunken boat. And two months before Lynch died, former U.K. Secretary of State David Davis reportedly said he was working with Lynch to scrap U.S./U.K extradition agreements that allowed Lynch’s trial to happen in the first place. 

On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Davis told GB News he would continue that fight in memory of Lynch. “We need to get a grip of this,” said Davis. “Mike, when he’d won his case, almost the first thing he did was ring me up and say, ‘We’re going to have to defeat this treaty, we’re going to have to overcome this treaty and get it changed for the better.’”

“I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” Lynch said after the verdict.

Lynch’s desire to extend the legal fight even after his not-guilty verdict reflects the scrappiness he displayed throughout his life. This helped him ascend to the highest rungs of business and moguldom—but the success also came with a tenuous quality as questions about his business dealings dogged him for years. The not-guilty verdict and the pending Darktrace sale meant Lynch was in position to finally cast off that shadow. But now his ultimate legacy is poised to be tied forever to a mysterious and tragic hour on the Mediterranean Sea.

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Warren Buffett’s BofA stake is shrinking so much, it’s near a key threshold for regulators

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Nvidia’s incredible rise has been powered by 3 crucial but overlooked factors

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Warren Buffett turns 94 today. His secret to longevity? Coca-Cola, candy, and a life of joy