The coincidence of the deaths of the two people responsible for Autonomy in such a short period of time (two days) – after they were acquitted in June of all 15 charges of fraud, which their company was involved in the sale, in 2011, to Hewlett-Packard. – generates a lot of speculation.
The coincidence that the two people responsible for Autonomy died in such a short period of time (two days) – after they were acquitted of all 15 fraud charges in June, and their company was involved in the sale, in 2011, to Hewlett-Packard – generates a lot of speculation.
In Brazil, Globo describes it as a mysterious coincidence. The sequence of events leaves no room for anything less, and it is at least a rare irony that the company executives involved in the suspected fraud died at about the same time.
Such a surprising series of coincidences sparks literature and conspiracy theories.
Stephen Chamberlain, who was vice president and chief financial officer of Autonomy, a company sold by the British millionaire and which was the subject of an investigation in the United States, died after being run over in England on Saturday (17) two days ago. The Bayserai sailboat sank near Porticello (a small town on the coast of Palermo) killing Mike Lynch. The sinking occurred in the early hours of Monday, August 19.
His friend and trusted man Stephen Chamberlain, who was deputy chief financial officer at Autonomy, was run over while jogging in Streatham, Cambridgeshire. He admitted to being alive, but died in hospital from his injuries.
Lynch's yacht sank near Palermo, on the Italian island of Sicily, due to a stronger-than-expected storm.
British tech billionaire Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead after his yacht sank in Sicily, Italy, on Thursday, after his body was rescued from the seabed.
According to the British press, Lynch was celebrating his recent acquittal in a 10-year fraud trial in which his software company, Autonomy, was accused. Also on board were Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Plummer and his wife Judy, and lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada.
What struck the sailboat could have been a waterspout, a whirlpool developing in the sea, a downward explosion, or a very strong gust of wind. But the boats alongside it were unaffected.
The irony and mystery is that last June, a San Francisco court acquitted him and his friend and confidant Stephen Chamberlain, who was Autonomy’s vice president of finance, in a case brought by Hewlett Packard (HP), which bought Autonomy in 2011 for $11.1 billion (only to write down its value to $8.8 billion a year later), and which in 2014 accused Autonomy’s executives of accounting fraud.
Mike Lynch was a co-founder of the software company Autonomy, which was created in 1996 and sold to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The PC and printer maker acquired Autonomy with the aim of expanding its presence in the software sector.
In June this year, Lynch and Chamberlain were acquitted of all 15 fraud charges related to their company. According to the Guardian, the trial began in March in San Francisco, USA.
Billionaire Mike Lynch, known as the “UK's Bill Gates” for being the country's first tech mogul, was on board the yacht, a luxury sailing vessel named Bayes after mathematician Thomas Bayes.
The large ship was capsized in a storm in a matter of minutes. It is 56 meters long, weighs 543 tons, and has a mast 72 meters long. The aluminum mast is the second longest in the entire world. The boat can reach a maximum speed of 15 knots.
There were 22 people on board, 10 crew members and 12 passengers, and 15 people were rescued alive – nine of them crew members. Among those who died with Lynch were the president of Morgan Stanley International and lawyer Chris Morvillo.
“Wannabe internet buff. Future teen idol. Hardcore zombie guru. Gamer. Avid creator. Entrepreneur. Bacon ninja.”