Hours after Autonomy’s former vice president of finance, Stephen Chamberlain, was struck by a car and died, word of Mike Lynch’s abduction broke.
One of the most well-known software billionaires in the UK, Mike Lynch, has been missing since his opulent superyacht collapsed off the coast of Italy on Monday. His disappearance occurs only hours after his co-defendant in a US fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed when he was struck by a vehicle while running. After Lynch vanished, two bizarre incidents that happened shortly after were seen to be too much of a coincidence on social media, where conspiracy theories abounded.
As per Reuters, Mike Lynch dedicated almost ten years to become the largest software firm in Britain, and nearly as much time to refute accusations of fraud surrounding the company’s multibillion-pound sale.
Lynch established Autonomy in 1996 as a result of his groundbreaking studies at Cambridge University. Fifteen years later, he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion. However, HP shocked Wall Street and the City of London at the end of 2012 when it claimed that the company was embroiled in a big accounting fraud and wrote off $8.8 billion of its worth.
A San Francisco jury cleared Lynch of all felony charges in June following a 12-year court fight. Off the coast of Sicily, the millionaire was celebrating the judgment aboard his opulent superyacht when inclement weather caused it to capsize.
Hours after Stephen Chamberlain, the former vice president of finance of Autonomy, was struck by an automobile and died, word of his disappearance broke. On Saturday, Chamberlain, 52, was struck by a vehicle while out on a run.
Conspiracy theories have taken over social media platform X.
“Can’t be a coincidence”
I apologize, but this is just too strange. Professor Katherine Schofield stated, “It can’t possibly be a coincidence that BOTH Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain perished in bizarre accidents within a few days of each other.”
Sorry but this is just too weird. It can't possibly be a coincidence that BOTH Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain were killed in freak accidents within a couple of days of each other. #MikeLynch #Autonomy https://t.co/eem0avGCGA
— Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺 (@katherineschof8) August 19, 2024
“Normally I’m not big on conspiracy theories, but this morning’s events—Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain—having vanished or passed away so soon after they were found not guilty over the Autonomy sale really had me wondering. X user Clive Ansell wrote
I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist normally, but Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain both disappearing/dying so close together after being declared innocent over the Autonomy sale definitely got me thinking this morning …
— Clive Ansell (@cliveansell) August 20, 2024
Mike Cosgrove, an X user, questioned whether the two events were just coincidental. He stated, “So Mike Lynch suddenly goes missing the minute he gets a Not Guilty verdict, and starts talking about US control over UK government and UK legal processes.”
So the minute he gets a Not Guilty verdict, and starts talking about US control over UK government and UK legal processes, Mike Lynch suddenly goes missing.
— Mike Cosgrove (@mikecosgrove) August 19, 2024
Now that’s one major coincidence. https://t.co/pkrqWjhWTV
What are the chances?
— Miss Jo (@therealmissjo) August 19, 2024
On Monday Mike Lynch, tech entrepreneur and founder of Autonomy, one of the UK’s largest tech companies is missing following his yacht capsizing.
Stephen Chamberlain, his former VP Finance is hit by a car in Cambridgeshire on Saturday and dies.
Both were… pic.twitter.com/PvWqAqnZBH
So Mike Lynch wins a huge fraud case in the US and swindles Hewlet Packard out of 8billion and suddenly disappears in a storm of Sicily meanwhile his Co Defendant in that case is killed when running on Saturday. Hmmm something smells fishy.
— Jacob Mulraney (@Jacob_Mulraney) August 20, 2024
The whole Mike Lynch boat Tornado death and the other Autonomy guy run down by a car within a day has the 'Simulation' tidy up vibe all over it. So much for actual Autonomy
— Tim Wood 🌮🍔 (@ibdxqueenstown) August 20, 2024
When Lynch’s superyacht Bayesian was hit by a waterspout off the Italian coast of Sicily, it overturned, taking 22 passengers with it. One person was discovered dead, fifteen were saved, and six, including the British computer billionaire, are still unaccounted for.
