British tycoon Mike Lynch celebrated his acquittal for fraud when his yacht sank

British tycoon Mike Lynch was celebrating a “second life” with his family and legal team following his recent acquittal in “one of the biggest fraud cases in Silicon Valley history” when their superyacht capsized in Sicily.

Lynch, who has been dubbed the British Steve Jobs, had invited corporate lawyer Christopher Morvillo and others from the Clifford Chance law firm to visit the Bayes Peninsula after he was acquitted in the federal case, according to a report in the Telegraph.

The three-month trial took place in federal court in San Francisco and revolved around allegations that Lynch tried to inflate the revenue of his software company Autonomy when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. Within a year, the US technology group was forced to reduce Autonomy's value by $8.8 billion.

A jury found 59-year-old Irish-born Lynch not guilty on all 15 counts of conspiracy and wire fraud on June 6. Clifford Chance called the trial “one of the biggest fraud cases in Silicon Valley history.”

“We are thrilled with the jury's verdict, which represents a clear rejection of the government's massive overreach in this case. The evidence presented at trial clearly demonstrated that Mike Lynch is innocent,” Morvillo and his co-counsel Brian Heberlig said in a statement.

“This verdict closes the book on a 13-year, relentless attempt to pin HP's well-documented incompetence on Dr. Lynch. Thankfully, the truth has finally prevailed. We thank Dr. Lynch for his trust throughout this ordeal and hope that he can now return to England to get on with his life and continue to innovate.”

After his acquittal and release from 13 months of house arrest in the United States, Lynch told the London Sunday Times that he had a second chance at life.

“It's bizarre, but now you have a second life. The question is, what do you want to do with it?”

The 160-foot luxury sailboat — with 22 people on board, including 10 crew and 12 passengers — sank off the coast of Porticello, Italy, after a storm hit at sunrise on Monday. The body of the ship's chef was recovered, 15 passengers survived, and the search continues for the six remaining passengers who are missing — including Morvillo and Lynch.

Also missing are Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and Bloomer's wife Judy. Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, 57, was rescued, according to British media.

Lynch defended himself in court, blaming HP for botching the merger because the company did not conduct proper due diligence. He also pointed the finger at his chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, claiming the chief financial officer was responsible for all financial and accounting decisions.

In their failed attempt to convict Lynch, authorities called more than 30 witnesses, including Leo Apotheker, the former HP CEO who was fired a few weeks after the Autonomy deal was announced.

Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley's London-based investment banking unit and chairman of Hiscox Group, testified in Lynch's defense because Lynch had appointed him to Automony's board to chair the audit committee for the HP deal starting in 2010.

Bloomer's wife Judy is also among the missing.

Ayla Ronald, a New Zealander who worked on Lynch at Clifford Chance.

s case, was also invited to the celebrations and survived the Bayesian accident, the company confirmed. “We are shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” Clifford Chance's statement said. “Our thoughts are with our partner Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda, who are among the missing, and their families.”

“Our highest priority is to support the family and our colleague Ayla Ronald, who fortunately survived the incident together with her partner,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts are with the other passengers and crew and all those affected.”

Ronald's father, Lin Ronald, told the Telegraph that his daughter was “part of the legal team invited to sail following their success in the recent US court case.”

Lynch's co-defendant and former Autonomy financial manager Stephen Chamberlain was also acquitted of all charges at trial.

Just days before the yacht capsized, Chamberlain died on Saturday after being hit by a car while jogging in Cambridgeshire, England.

Hussain was found guilty in a 2018 trial related to the doomed HP deal and was released from prison in January after serving a five-year sentence.

HP won a lawsuit against Lynch and Hussain in London in 2022, but the legal consequences have yet to be decided. The US technology giant is demanding $4 billion in damages.