Tech giant to pursue £3bn claim against Mike Lynch’s family after yacht death

An American technology company says it will continue to pursue £3bn worth of damages against Mike Lynch’s estate, despite his recent death in a superyacht disaster.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) won the multi-billion-pound High Court claim against the British tech tycoon in 2022, over fraud claims involving the sale of Dr Lynch’s firm Autonomy in 2011.

However, his death aboard the Bayesian yacht , which sank during a freak storm on 19 August off the coast of Sicily, means that his family could be liable for the payout.

In a statement, HPE said: “In 2022, an English High Court judge ruled that HPE had substantially succeeded in its civil fraud claims against Dr Lynch and Mr Hussain.

“A damages hearing was held in February 2024 and the judge’s decision regarding damages due to HPE will arrive in due course. It is HPE’s intention to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion.”

Dr Lynch was cleared in a separate criminal trial involving the sale of Autonomy in June, with his boat trip said to be a gathering among friends, close colleagues and his legal team to celebrate his acquittal.

HPE won its civil case in the UK over claims that Dr Lynch and his company’s former finance chief, Sushovan Hussain, had inflated the revenus of the firm before the takeover.

In a hearing earlier this year, HPE said it was seeking £3bn in damages, with a judge expected to rule on it later this year.

Dr Lynch died alongside his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others after his superyacht sank during the early hours of the morning in a suspected tornado.

After becoming trapped in the ship’s hull, he was killed along with Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, and the yacht’s cheft Recaldo Thomas.

Rescuers saved 15 passengers from the water, with three of the crew members now under investigation. This includes the ship’s captain James Cutfield, who is being probed for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges.