The founder of India's largest chain of coffee shops has been reported missing under mysterious circumstances. Indian billionaire V.G. Siddhartha reportedly disappeared Monday evening and his whereabouts are still unknown.
Local media reports have speculated that Siddhartha could have committed suicide. Reports citing unknown sources revealed that the businessman was apparently on his way to Mangalore from Bangalore prior to leaving his car near a bridge.
Indian police are currently in the middle of investigating Siddhartha's disappearance, but no announcement has yet been made to reveal what they have found so far.
Update: Indian authorities have confirmed that Siddhartha's body has been found. Fishermen reportedly found the businessman's body on the river near where he left his vehicle.
Following news of Siddhartha's disappearance, share prices for his publicly-traded company fell by as much as 20 percent. Coffee Day Enterprises also sent a letter to the Bombay Stock Exchange to inform them that Siddhartha has not been reachable since Monday.
Local reports have used the letter that the businessman left to the board of his company as evidence that Siddhartha may have indeed committed suicide. In the letter, the company's founder apologized to everyone for failing to create a profitable business model despite his best efforts. Siddhartha wrote that he was sorry for letting everyone who trusted him down.
A local news agency also tweeted parts of the letter where Siddhartha accused a private equity firm of placing pressure on him to buy back shares.
The letter indicated that Siddhartha had fought the firm for quite a while now, but he had now chosen to give up as the pressure was apparently too much to handle.
Siddhartha explained in the letter that his staff, including his team, auditors, and management, was unaware of his transactions and that they should not be legally held accountable for what authorities will find.
Siddhartha revealed in the letter that he has been continually harassed by tax officials. In 2017, India's income tax department raided Siddhartha's company and his home and reportedly found $100 million in undeclared income that hidden from tax collectors.
Siddhartha appeared on the World's billionaires list in 2015, after amassing a wealth estimated to be around $1.2 billion.
Siddhartha first set up his coffee store in 1996 with a single shop in Bangalore. The company became quite a big success and now had over 2,700 outlets across India. In its latest quarter earnings report, Coffee Day reported $18 million in profits on $613 million of revenues.
The company has become so massive that it now is seen as a formidable competitor to Starbucks. Starbucks entered the Indian market in 2012, through a joint venture partnership with Tata group.
