Flooded luxury yacht thought to harbor airtight vaults holding classified intel info
Italian investigators, probing multiple homicides and careless maritime incidents, suspect the 56-meter (184-foot) yacht, the Bayesian, could harbor confidential data linked to various Western intelligence agencies. Four insiders in the probe and salvage operation shared this information with CNN.
Lynch, with his links to British, American, and other intelligence agencies via his enterprises including cybersecurity firm Darktrace, is one of the individuals under scrutiny. Darktrace was purchased by Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo in April. Lynch's wife's company, Revtom Limited, held ownership of the boat, and he served as an advisor to British prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May on science, tech, and cybersecurity during their tenures, as per British records.
The sunken vessel, resting at 50 meters (164 feet) depth beneath the sea, is speculated to house watertight safes containing two double-encrypted hard drives containing highly sensitive information, such as passcodes and other classified data. A confidential source involved in the salvage plans conveyed this information to CNN. Experienced divers have inspected the vessel thoroughly with remote cameras, searching for any signs of valuable items or contraband.
Initially, local authorities were worried about thieves potentially accessing the wreckage to loot valuable items from the yacht. Divers from the Fire Brigade reported this concern to CNN. Currently, authorities are concerned that foreign governments, such as Russia and China, may be interested in the salvage process due to the high-profile nature of the investigation. They have requested closer surveillance of the wreckage, both above and below water.
Sicilian Civil Protection Agency's Francesco Venuto confirmed to CNN that additional security measures have been implemented due to this concern.
Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, American attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, British banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, the onboard chef Recaldo Thomas, passed away when the ship sank amid a fierce storm in the early hours of the morning.
Preliminary autopsy findings suggest that Bloomer and Morvillo couples succumbed to suffocation or "dry drowning" when oxygen in a sleeping cabin's compressed air bubble ran out. The findings regarding Lynch and his daughter were not conclusive.
The chef, discovered outside the vessel, drowned as per the coroner. Toxicology reports on the deceased have yet to be released, but none suffered any physical injuries during the sinking event.
Lynch's wife Angela Bacares and 14 other individuals, including captain James Cutfield, deckhand, and the yacht's engine room manager, managed to escape. Cutfield, along with the others, is under investigation for multiple homicides and negligent shipwreck. They have been permitted to leave Italy.
Some of the 15 survivors, comprising of nine crew members and six passengers, including a one-year-old child, allegedly informed investigators that Lynch did not trust cloud storage services and always kept data drives in a secure compartment on the yacht, as per a source acquainted with the prosecutor's office. None of the surviving crew or passengers were tested for substances due to being in a state of shock, authorities claimed following the recovery of the bodies.
Morvillo represented Lynch in his US fraud case case in June, which revolved around Hewlett Packard's acquisition of his software company Autonomy. Surviving individuals told investigators that the cruise was a celebration of Lynch's acquittal. Though Lynch was acquitted of any criminal liability in the US case, Hewlett Packard continues its bid to collect a $4 billion civil penalty from Lynch's estate, awarded by a British court in 2022.
In a coincidental turn of events, Lynch's business partner Stephen Chamberlain – a co-defendant in the US fraud case and former Darktrace COO – passed away on August 19, the same day the Bayesian sank, following a car accident two days prior. A spokesperson from the prosecutor's office informed CNN that Cutfield shared Lynch's intention to cut the cruise short and return to the UK to visit his ailing partner, who was on life support.
Given Chamberlain's deteriorating health status, Lynch presumably would not have known about his death, and Chamberlain was in a coma, unaware of the shipwreck incident, said Chamberlain's attorney.
Local prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio declared that no personal belongings, such as computers, jewelry, or Lynch's hard drives, were retrieved from the vessel. However, investigators now have access to the onboard hard drives and surveillance cameras connected to the yacht's navigation system, collecting potential evidence establishing how the yacht sank within 16 minutes of the storm's onset. The vessel lacked the traditional black box or voyage data recorder to record navigation data or audio in the wheelhouse.
Divers will carry out inspections of the wreck this week, providing recommendations on the safest and most environmentally responsible approach to retrieve the 473-ton yacht without spilling its residual 18,000 liters of oil and fuel. The bill for recovering the ship falls upon the owner – Lynch's widow, as per Italian maritime laws.
After the tragic sinking of the Bayesian, concerns have arisen about foreign governments, such as Russia and China, potentially being interested in the salvage process due to the high-profile nature of the investigation and the possibility of confidential data linked to Western intelligence agencies being on board. (follows from original text)
The investigation into the sinking of the Bayesian has revealed that several individuals under scrutiny, including Lynch, had links to various intelligence agencies in Europe, adding another layer of complexity to the case. (follows from the given text and original text)
