V G Siddhartha, son-in-law former External Affairs Minister and ex-Karnataka chief minister, S M Krishna, has admitted to have concealed income of more than Rs 650 crore after raids were conducted at multiple locations by the Income Tax Department.
The raids were conducted on 25 properties in Bengaluru, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Chennai and Mumbai, which began on Thursday, reported NDTV.
"There are a number of other issues including violations of other statutes on which there is no disclosure, but relevant evidence has been found. These will be pursued effectively with vigour, energy and imagination," the IT Department assured.
The raids caused a five percent decline in the shares of the cafe chain.
Siddhartha is the founder-owner of the CCD, a chain of coffee outlets in India, and has been its chairman and managing director since January 17, 2015. The company sources coffee beans from its plantations in Chikkamagaluru.
He is also an investor and has stakes in some IT firms, including Mindtree, and is among the largest exporters of coffee bean in the country.
Earlier in March, former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna had joined the BJP in Delhi, around seven weeks after he quit the Congress party.
Krishna (84) had announced his resignation from the Congress on January 29, saying the party was in a "state of confusion" on whether it needed mass leaders or not.
Krishna, who was the Karnataka Chief Minister from 1999 to 2004, had returned to state politics after stepping down as then External Affairs Minister in 2012.
He has also served as the Governor of Maharashtra.
(With agency inputs)
