Mike Lynch Shielded Family Fortune with Divided Assets, Wife's Wealth Safe from £700m Fraud Ruling

Mike Lynch, a British software tycoon, shielded his family fortune from a £700m fraud ruling by holding much of it in his wife Angela Bacares's name. Bacares, a former Wall Street and City of London worker, is now sitting on a fortune worth hundreds of millions. Lynch's estate is on the hook for the majority of the damages after a judge ruled HP was owed £740m from Lynch and his business partner over the fraudulent sale of Autonomy.

A British software tycoon's estate is on the hook for a significant sum following a high court ruling. Mike Lynch, once hailed as the UK's answer to Microsoft founder Bill Gates, died a year ago when his superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily. His estate, along with his business partner, owes Hewlett-Packard more than £700m, according to a court decision [1].

The ruling comes a year after Lynch's death and a year after his superyacht, the Bayesian, sank off Sicily. HP has been seeking damages of up to $4.55bn (£3.37bn) from Lynch's estate over the fraudulent sale of his software company Autonomy. The court determined that HP sustained losses of over £646m due to the difference between what it paid for Autonomy and what it would have paid if Autonomy's true financial position had been known [1].

Lynch's estate is estimated to be worth about £500m, and the ruling could leave it bankrupt. However, Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, who survived the sinking, has her own assets legally separate from her late husband's estate, which are not impacted by the ruling [2].

The ruling also includes a personal claim for deceit and/or misrepresentation against Dr. Lynch and his former finance director Sushovan Hussain, totaling £51.7m. Additionally, the court ruled that HP was entitled to another £35m in relation to losses suffered by group companies [2].

The HP lawsuit, which began in 2019, has been a contentious one. Lynch and Hussain were found guilty of fraud over the Autonomy sale, with Hussain sentenced to five years in jail and ordered to pay financial penalties of about $10m. Lynch, who was acquitted of criminal charges in the US, had intended to appeal the high court's 2022 ruling, a process that was on hold pending Tuesday's decision on damages [1].

The ruling has significant implications for Lynch's family and estate. While Bacares' assets are separate, the ruling could significantly impact the distribution of Lynch's estate. The court's decision reflects a substantial reduction from HP's original $4.55bn claim, which was deemed "exaggerated" by Judge Hildyard [1].

References:
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/22/mike-lynch-estate-hp-700m-court-autonomy-case
[2] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14928407/Bayesian-superyacht-victim-Mike-Lynch-estate-bankrupted.html