Weeks Before Mike Lynch Died in Yacht Sinking, He Spoke About Making the Most of 'Second Life'

Lynch was looking forward to "making up for lost time" with his family, a reporter who spoke to the businessman about his acquittal tells PEOPLE

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch spoke about having a new lease on life and how he was looking forward to spending time with his family in the weeks before his death, according to a journalist who spoke with Lynch about his life after being acquitted of fraud.

On Thursday, Aug. 22, an Italian government official said Lynch's body had been retrieved from the luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily days earlier, while his family and friends were celebrating his legal victory.

PEOPLE previously reported that five bodies had been found in the days after the Bayesian went into the water.

Although the Italian coast guard has not formally identified the bodies that have been recovered, an official with the Italian interior ministry, confirmed to Reuters that Lynch was one of the victim's found while his daughter Hannah remained missing.

The father-daughter pair had been among six passengers missing in the aftermath of the sinking, while Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was one of 15 people who were rescued.

The remaining victims reported as missing were Christopher Morvillo, a New York City attorney, his wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo; as well as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy.

The body of victim, identified as chef Recaldo Thomas, was recovered shortly after the yacht went down.

Related: Yacht Sank in Sicily Due to ‘Endless Chain of Errors,' Ship Maker's Owner Speculates: ‘Everything Was Predictable’

In the weeks before the ill-fated trip, Lynch's life changed after being acquitted of multiple fraud and conspiracy charges following a lengthy legal battle.

Speaking with The Sunday Times in an interview that was published on July 27, the father of two said that when the verdict came in, it felt like he had been given a "second life."

But, he added, "The question is, what do you want to do with it?”

In 2018, federal prosecutors in California indicted Lynch on several counts of securities fraud and conspiracy, per the Associated Press and the BBC. The indictment related to the 2011 sale of Autonomy, a business software company he founded, for $11 billion to Hewlett Packard, per the AP.

At the time, the sale made him one of the richest people in the U.K., according to CBS News.

Lynch, who faced spending up to 25 years in U.S. prison, spent years fighting extradition, according to the BBC. Last May, he was finally extradited from Britain and then spent 13 months under house arrest while waiting for the trial to begin, per The Sunday Times.

“If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of life as I have known it in any sense," Lynch told the outlet, noting at another point that he also had "various medical things that would have made it difficult to survive."

The trial began in 2024 and in June, he was acquitted on all 15 counts.

As he wondered what he would do with his freedom, he even told the newspaper he was interested in creating a British equivalent to the American nonprofit the Innocence Project.

Related: Weeks Before Yacht Sank in Sicily, Missing Lawyer Shared Post About Living 'Happily Ever After'

Speaking with PEOPLE before Lynch's body was recovered, Danny Fortson — who interviewed Lynch for the The Sunday Times — said that he felt the businessman was "excited and very thankful," but also still "struggling to accept" his new reality after such a sudden change.

He was also looking forward to "making up for lost time" with his family.

"This case, especially as it got closer to trial, became all-encompassing and so he missed out on a lot of stuff with his daughters," the journalist added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

According to The Sunday Times, Hannah was set to study poetry at Oxford while her older sister, 21, was studying physics at Imperial College, just like her father.

Related: Italian Authorities Currently Don’t Have Anyone ‘Under Investigation’ over Luxury Yacht Sinking

Hannah's disappearance left her former school Latymer Upper School in London "incredibly shocked."

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE before her body was found, a spokesperson said, "our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.