Mike Lynch's widow facing damages battle as legal action from Bayesian disaster victims could wipe out her husband's estate
Angela Bacares, who survived the horrific sinking of the £25 million yacht Bayesian, is now at the centre of a spiralling legal storm, with families of the five other victims preparing a multimillion-pound compensation battle that could engulf what's left of Lynch's fortune.
Bacares, who is the sole shareholder of the corporate entity that owned the vessel, could find herself at the heart of the blame game, alongside the boat's management firm and insurance giant QBE.
Among the seven killed were Lynch, his teenage daughter, Hannah, the vessel's cook Recaldo Thomas, Lynch's high-profile American lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, and British banking couple Jonathan and Judy Bloomer.
A further fifteen people, including Bacares, survived, rescued by the crew of a nearby yacht in a late-night operation off the Italian coast.
While Bacares is understood to have her own personal wealth shielded from the estate, she may not be entirely free from the financial fallout.
Bacares is listed as the sole shareholder of Revtom, the company that owned the doomed Bayesian, and that opens the door to potential legal claims from families of the victims.
James Healy-Pratt, a prominent US aviation and maritime lawyer, is representing the family of 59-year-old cook Recaldo 'Rick' Thomas, the first victim recovered by divers.
He has said: 'The Thomas family are satisfied that they can establish liability for Rick's death against those entities based on the current evidence.'
He confirmed that Bayesian was insured for more than $150 million by British Marine, a subsidiary of QBE, and warned that the family would soon offer the insurer a chance to resolve the case behind closed doors or face high-profile legal proceedings in the US.
'The Thomas family will shortly be offering QBE the opportunity to mediate confidentially their significant claim in the US, or face very public US legal proceedings,' he added.
Meanwhile, the family of Chris and Neda Morvillo have also signalled their mounting frustration with the yacht's managers and insurers.
Chris's brother, New York lawyer Greg Morvillo, has been outspoken about his determination to fight for justice on behalf of his late brother's daughters.
He said: 'We had hoped that by now Camper & Nicholsons, who managed the vessel, and the insurance companies that manage the liability for the vessel, would have proactively contacted us to offer not only their condolences but also assurances that there would be no need for us to litigate the losses suffered by our nieces.
'Sadly, no such outreach has happened and our patience is running out. We do not wish to engage in a litigation, and we had thought that Camper & Nicholsons and the insurance companies would feel the same way, but it is beginning to feel inevitable.
'Through all of this, we continue to express our deepest condolences to all those who lost loved ones or who have been impacted by what we think was an avoidable tragedy.'
QBE confirmed it had insured Bayesian but refused to comment further. It is understood the firm has already instructed a major US law firm to handle potential litigation.
A legal insider close to the case said: 'What is an unspeakable tragedy for all is turning into a compensation fight.'
Last month, Italian authorities raised the sunken yacht from the seabed as part of an ongoing criminal investigation that may not conclude until 2027.
A separate British maritime inquiry is also under way and will feed into upcoming inquests.
Teenager Hannah was the last to be found, hidden behind a mattress below deck. She had won a place to do English Literature at Oxford and was due to start her studies when she returned from the trip
In a separate long-running civil case, Lynch - the Autonomy founder once hailed as Britain's answer to Steve Jobs - was found in 2022 to have defrauded US tech firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in its $11.7 billion (£8.6 billion) takeover of his software firm in 2011.
HPE accused Lynch and his finance chief of cooking the books to make Autonomy appear far more valuable than it was, launching a decade-long legal saga that only deepened after his extradition to the US and eventual death in 2024.
Though Mr Justice Hildyard ruled in favour of HPE, the final damages have yet to be determined.
The company is seeking a staggering $4 billion - far more than the $516 million Lynch is believed to have personally received. A final judgment is now expected within days, with speculation mounting that the figure could exceed the value of Lynch's estate.
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