Formula E case: ACB asks KTR to appear on 6th January

Hyderabad: The sleuths of Telangana Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) have issued summons (a notice) to BRS working president and MLA KT Rama Rao to appear before the agency on January 6. This is about the Formula E race case in which KTR has been named Accused 1.

The ACB officials registered a criminal case against KTR, IAS officer Arvind Kumar and former HMDA chief engineer BLN Reddy for allegedly transferring Rs 55 crore to an international agency without the consent of the State Cabinet.

The case pertains to the alleged irregularities found in the organisation of the Formula E race held in Hyderabad in 2023. It was alleged that Rs 55 crore was paid by HMDA to the foreign company FEO in violation of RBI guidelines.

The alleged case is being investigated by two agencies-Telangana ACB and the federal agency, Enforcement Directorate (ED). It is important to note that the ED sleuths have also issued notices to KTR and asked him to appear before the office on January 6.

Currently, all eyes are on the High Court judgement . ED’s role in Formula E case

If the Telangana HC quashes the Formula E case, the FIR registered by the ACB against KTR, IAS Arvind Kumar and former chief engineer BLN Reddy, then the case under PMLA registered by ED will also be dissolved automatically.

The HC has reserved its judgement on the quash petition and extended the interim relief (not to arrest) granted to MLA KTR until further orders.

The ED’s role in this case will revolve around ‘how to retrieve’ the government money, i.e. Rs 55 crores transferred to the international agency on the verbal orders (sans Cabinet approval) of then MAUD minister KTR. ED’s probe will mainly focus on why the procedure was not followed and why the IAS officer did not object to it.

The Congress has done extensive legal homework before they proceeded in this case. The first step was to seek the approval of the governor to begin the investigation, held a cycle of discussions in the recent Cabinet meeting held on December 16, directing the chief secretary to write to the ACB. Following this, the state investigating agency registered a case.