Mike Lynch, the British tech entrepreneur recently acquitted in a high-stakes £8bn fraud case, is missing after his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

The incident occurred just weeks after Lynch’s remarkable legal victory, which saw him cleared of fraud charges in a US court following a 13-year legal battle with technology giant HP.

Lynch, often dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates,” was aboard his 56-metre yacht, Bayesian, named after the statistical method central to his academic work, when it was caught in a freak tornado off the coast of Palermo. His wife, Angela Bacares, and several other passengers were rescued, but Lynch, his daughter Hannah, and several others are still missing.

The sinking marks a tragic turn of events for Lynch, who had recently celebrated his acquittal and expressed intentions to challenge the UK’s extradition laws. Lynch, who founded the software company Autonomy before selling it to HP for over £8bn in 2011, had faced allegations of inflating the company’s value to secure the sale. Despite losing a civil case in the UK, Lynch was found not guilty in a criminal trial in the US, a verdict that few expected.

Lynch’s yacht had been travelling along the Sicilian coast when it encountered the storm. Local fishermen described seeing the vessel in distress before it sank, leaving wreckage scattered on the sea’s surface. Italian authorities are continuing the search for the missing passengers, but hopes are fading.

Lynch, whose wealth was estimated at $450m, primarily lived on a farm in Suffolk, where he raised rare breeds of livestock. Known for his pioneering work in the tech industry, Lynch also played a key role in the founding of cybersecurity firm Darktrace and was a prominent investor in the tech sector through his venture capital firm, Invoke Capital.

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Tech tycoon Mike Lynch missing after yacht sinks off Sicily, weeks after £8bn fraud acquittal