The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted raids at the offices and homes of VG Siddhartha, the founder-owner of popular chain Cafe Coffee Day.
Officials are looking for evidence to prove allegations of tax evasion against Siddhartha, I-T Joint Commissioner S Ramesh told IANS. “The number of locations being raided and other details will be disclosed only after the search ends,” he said.
I-T sleuths are believed to be raiding nearly 20 locations across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Chikmagalur. The Cafe Coffee Day headquarters in Bengaluru was searched. Siddhartha’s Serai Resorts in Chikmagalur and a coffee curing centre in Hassan were raided, as well, reported The Hindu.
Siddhartha is the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, who was also the minister for external affairs in the United Progressive Alliance government. Krishna had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in March.
Till 2015, the cafe had more than 1,500 outlets across 220 cities in India. Siddhartha also holds 16% stake in technology firm Mindtree.
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