Police confirmed on Wednesday that they had recovered the body of V.G. Siddhartha, founder of Café Coffee Day, from a river in the coastal city of Mangalore.
“I would like to say I gave it my all,” the letter says. “I am very sorry to let down all the people that put their trust in me.”
In the letter, Siddhartha urged Coffee Day to continue running the business with new management.
“I am solely responsible for all mistakes. Every financial transaction is my responsibility,” he wrote.
Coffee Day said it could not verify the authenticity of the letter, but added it would thoroughly investigate. It named S.V. Ranganath, an independent director, as interim chairman on Wednesday.
The company’s shares fell by the maximum daily limit of 20% for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, hitting a new all-time low.
Coffee Day also has retail outlets in Austria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Malaysia and Nepal, and exports coffee to several markets including North America, Europe and the Middle East.
In the letter, Siddhartha listed the coffee chain as well as several other assets — including stakes in multiple tech companies and logistics firm Sical — that he said “can help repay everybody.”
“My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur,” he added. “I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me.”
Source : Nbcnewyork