Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha, who has been missing since 6 pm on July 29, said he 'failed as an entrepreneur' in a letter to board and employees. The police are conducting a search operation in the Nethravati river near Mangaluru.
Also read: VG Siddhartha missing: Helicopters, Coast Guard called to find Cafe Coffee Day founder
"I sincerely request each of you to be strong and to continue running these businesses with a new management," Siddhartha said in a letter dated July 27.
Siddartha said he was under 'tremendous pressure' from private equity partners to buyback their shares, a transaction he had partially undertaken after borrowing money from a friend.
The Cafe Coffee Day founder also spoke of a liquidity crunch due to harassment from a previous Director General of Income Tax with regard to the Mindtree deal. Siddhartha had recently sold 20.3 percent stake in Mindtree to L&T.
"There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG of Income Tax in the form of attaching our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking over our Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns have been filed by us," Siddhartha added.
He took complete responsibility for the situation, saying that none of his team members, auditors and senior management were aware of these transactions.
"My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur. This is my sincere submission. I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me," Siddhartha said.
Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw expressed her shock at the incident.
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