Hewlett Packard to prosecute tech veteran Mike Lynch, who died in yacht sinking

Hewlett Packard Enterprise will pursue a lawsuit against the estate of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who died following his boating accident in August. Sank off the coast of Sicily.

In 2022 the UK High Court ruled in favour of the US technology company, which had accused Lynch and his former finance director of fraud over its $11 billion acquisition of his software company Autonomy. Hewlett Packard is seeking up to $4 billion in damages, and the judge is expected to rule on the final amount soon.

Lynch died when his yacht Bayesian sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily on August 19. Now his widow Angela Backares must pay for the loss. A few months before the sinking, Lynch was acquitted A separate criminal case is being pursued in the US over allegations of fraud and conspiracy in the deal.

Hewlett Packard celebrated its costly acquisition of Lynch’s company in 2011 but soon came to regret it. The company said in a statement on Monday that it had been “substantially successful” in its civil fraud claims against Lynch and former finance director Sushovan Hussain.

“HPE intends to pursue the proceedings to their conclusion.”

However, the judge in the UK civil case has already ruled that the amount payable in compensation will be “substantially less” than the amount sought by the company.

A spokesman for Lynch’s family declined to comment.

Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among six passengers who died when their 184-foot luxury yacht sank in a storm on August 19. One crew member, the yacht’s cook, also died, while 15 people survived the disaster. They had gathered on the yacht to celebrate Lynch’s release.

Event questions have been raisedBecause another boat anchored off the coast of Palermo survived the storm. Authorities initially said the boat was hit by an overwater tornado, known as a waterspout. Prosecutors in Italy are investigating the captain on possible charges including manslaughter.

The captain, engineer and a sailor aboard the boat “Bayesian” were taken to safety. Possible murder investigation Regarding the ship accident.

Federal authorities have for years been seeking Lynch’s extradition from Britain so he could face multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in the U.S. related to HP’s acquisition of Autonomy.