The sunken Bayesian luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily has left behind a casualty list that is anything but ordinary. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the American multinational technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP) is not mourning their loss. All of the victims were connected to a lawsuit that HP had filed against the executives of a certain British IT company, Autonomy.
The background to this story is that HP acquired the British company, but the deal turned out to be a significant financial loss. HP accused the British management of deliberately inflating the value of Autonomy’s shares. The litigation dragged on for years, but eventually, the British executives were acquitted, while the Americans lost $8.4 billion in the transaction. Looking back now, after the yacht disaster, it could be said that they would have “fared better” in prison. The victims were celebrating their legal victory on the yacht when they met their demise. Among the victims were billionaire Mike Lynch, the founder of Autonomy, and his 19-year-old daughter, as well as Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, who was formerly an external director of Autonomy, the star witness for the defense, and whose wife is also missing. Another victim was Christopher J. Morvillo, the lawyer who represented the British interests in the lawsuit, along with his wife.
The other defendant in the case, Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s CFO and vice president, also met an unfortunate end. He was struck and killed by a car while jogging near his home just a few days ago. These are strange coincidences…
And if you think HP is the only American giant that handles its problems in such a “creative” way—although there is no proof of foul play yet—just consider the two former Boeing employees who attempted to testify against the company regarding safety deficiencies that led to aircraft disasters. One of them couldn’t attend his morning hearing because—according to the official version—he shot himself in the head. Two months later, the other witness succumbed to a rapidly progressing infection.
If this continues, being a Russian opposition leader might be safer than going to court against an American multinational giant.
Translated and edited by Alex Kada
