Indian coffee magnate's body found by river

The body of a billionaire Indian coffee magnate who went missing amid financial troubles was found by a river in southern India, police said Wednesday.

V.G. Siddhartha, founder of the Cafe Coffee Day chain that beat Starbucks at its own game in India, was last seen Monday next to the Nethravathi river near Mangaluru and reported missing soon after by his chauffeur.

Authorities launced a major search operation, and a fisherman found the body on the bank of the river.

"Siddhartha's body was found early this morning," Sasikanth Senthil, deputy commissioner of South Karnataka police, told AFP.

"We have sent his body for post mortem analysis now and are awaiting results."

The body will be handed over to the tycoon's family after legal formalities are completed, said Sandeep Patil, Mangaluru police commissioner.

Patil said an investigation was underway to determine whether Siddhartha took his own life.

Photos: AFP

Siddhartha - whose family have been in the coffee business for 130 years - opened his first Cafe Coffee Day store in 1996 and went on to become one of the world's biggest coffee traders.

The chain has more than 1,700 stores, mainly in India, but also in Malaysia, Egypt, Czech Republic and Austria, employing more than 30,000 people.

Police said Siddhartha left Bangalore late Monday, telling his family he was going to a hill resort but instead asked his driver to take him to Mangaluru.

He ordered the driver to stop the car and started walking along a bridge as he talked to someone on his phone before disappearing.

Siddhartha married a daughter of S.M. Krishna, a former foreign minister and chief minister, making him one of the country's best-connected tycoons.

But his empire came under pressure after tax authorities launched raids on company offices in 2017. Reports said Siddhartha was in talks with Coca-Cola about selling a major stake.

In a letter to the Cafe Coffee Day board, the 57-year-old chairman had admitted mistakes in handling his financial affairs.

But he said he had suffered pressure from lenders and harassment from Indian tax authorities.

"My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur," he said in the letter, which was dated July 27.

Major hunt for India's missing coffee king

Indian police on Tuesday launched a major hunt for one of the country's richest men, coffee tycoon V.G. Siddhartha, amid mounting fears for his safety.

The billionaire owner of the Cafe Coffee Day chain that beat Starbucks at its own game in India was last seen Monday night walking across a bridge in the southern state of Karnataka.

His chauffeur alerted police when Siddhartha did not return.

Police divers, backed by local fishermen, searched the Nethravathi river near Mangalaru whilst senior Karnataka politicians flocked to the tycoon's home.

Siddhartha's family has been in the coffee business for more than 130 years.

On taking it over, he set up the Cafe Coffee Day chain in 1996 and also became one of the world's biggest coffee traders, as well the as owner of Asia's biggest coffee plantation.

Siddhartha owned about 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of plantations and his Amalgamated Bean Company (ABC) is India's largest exporter of green coffee.

Cafe Coffee Day has more than 1,700 stores, mainly in India, but also in Malaysia, Egypt, Czech Republic and Austria. US giant Starbucks has so far managed to open just over 150 stores in India.

Siddhartha married a daughter of S.M. Krishna, a former foreign minister and chief minister of Karnataka, making him one of the country's best-connected tycoons.

But his empire came under pressure after the tax authorities launched raids on company offices in several cities in 2017. Reports said Siddhartha was in talks with Coca Cola about selling a major stake.

Several media quoted from a letter Siddhartha sent to company shareholders on Monday which said: "I am very sorry to let down all the people that put their trust in me.

"I fought for a long time but today I have given up as I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares."

Siddhartha, who is aged about 60, left Bangalore on Monday night at first telling his family he was going to the hill resort of Saklesharm, reports said.

Police told reporters that he told his driver to go to Mangaluru instead.

The driver was ordered to stop on a bridge near Mangalaru and he got out whilst talking on the telephone.

Coffee Day Enterprises shares fell heavily on the Mumbai stock exchange after the company confirmed that its chairman "is not reachable since yesterday evening" and authorities had been alerted.

The firm vowed it would "ensure continuity of business".

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