Ex-CBI sleuth to probe Cafe Coffee Day owner Siddhartha's letter
Bengaluru: Former CBI official Ashok Kumar Malhotra will investigate the letter that Cafe Coffee Day owner V.G. Siddhartha purportedly wrote to the company's board on July 27, two days before he went missing and was then found dead on July 31, a CCD official said on Saturday.
"Though the board on August 8 appointed global audit firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) to investigate the letter's contents, it has decided to engage Malhotra's services after the former recused itself from the probe citing conflict of interest," the official told IANS here.
Malhotra is a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
E&Y was also to scrutinise the books of accounts of the company and its subsidiaries.
"As E&Y is also our external auditor, adviser on taxation, providing software and does due diligence of the company and its subsidiaries, a conflict of interest was found in probing the letter," said the official, citing a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
New Delhi-based Agastya Legal LLP will assist Malhotra in the investigation into the contents of the two-page letter found in Siddhartha's office in the city on July 30 when a search was carried to find out if he left any suicide note.
Siddhartha, 60, is alleged to have committed suicide on July 29 night by jumping off the road bridge into the Netravathi river, as his body was found on its banks on July 31 morning.
In the signed letter, Siddhartha claims to be solely responsible for all the mistakes he apparently committed.
"I am solely responsible for all mistakes. Every financial transaction is my responsibility. My team, auditors and senior management are totally unaware of all my transactions. The law should hold me, and only me accountable, as I have withheld this information from everybody including my family," the letter, which was found in Siddhartha's table drawer, said.
The state police is investigating the case to ascertain what drove Siddhartha to commit suicide, and a forensic audit of his personal accounts and company books will reveal the mistakes he claims to have made and the transactions his team, auditors and senior management were unaware of.
The Income Tax department, which was inspecting his office and personal accounts for compliances, claimed Siddhartha's signature in the letter was not the same as in his annual reports, though the company's board confirmed that it was authentic.
"My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur. This is my sincere submission, I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me," said Siddhartha, sounding apologetic for omissions and commissions that ended his life.
Malhotra handled high profile cases ranging from investigations involving banks and securities-related cases of late stockbroker Harshad Mehta.
"Malhotra shall appoint and take support of any other professional/firm to expedite the investigation into the letter," added the filing.
Courtesy: www.indiatoday.in
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
