ACB raids at Greenko office in Formula E race case: Here’s what the probe found

Hyderabad: The investigation into the alleged Formula E Race irregularities is taking multiple turns as the probe proceeds.

Links to Ace Urban Developers in Hyderabad

The sleuths of Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), who carried out raids against three companies connected to the Formula E race’s former event sponsor, Greenko, found that the money invested for building the infrastructure for the race was borrowed from the Hyderabad real estate company Ace Urban Developers.

Who are the companies mentioned in the case?

The sleuths of ACB carried out raids against three companies on January 7—Ace Nxt Gen Office in Madhapur; ⁠Ace Urban Race in Hyderabad; and ⁠Ace Urban Developers in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The ACB raids, which lasted till late night on Tuesday, found that Ace Nxt Gen borrowed around Rs 90 crore from Ace Urban Developers and invested around Rs 110 crore for building the infrastructure of the Formula E Championship held in 2023 in Hyderabad. These companies are said to be connected to Greenko, the primary sponsor for the race.

The searches come a day after former minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao refused to appear before the ACB without his legal team.

Further investigation found that the promoters of Ace Urban Developers are identified as Anil Chalamalasetty, Swathi Chalamalasetty and Kumar Raghavan. The agency is also looking into the role of one Ponnagati Srinivas Rao, said to be a promoter of Prime Properties engaged in real estate in Hyderabad. It is learnt that one of the reasons why Greenko stepped out of the contract was because they ‘burnt their pockets’ (suffered a huge financial loss) following the first season.

Why did Greenko pull out of Formula E race sponsorship?

Top sources told NewsMeter that the State probing agency, i.e. ACB is looking for answers on why a multi-crore company such as Greenko—one of the big players in renewable energy in India—walked out of the tri-party agreement after the first season of Formula E race. Following this decision by the company, the financial burden fell on the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).

The epicentre of the case is the transfer of Rs 55 crore to an international agency from HMDA, based on the verbal orders given by former minister KTR without a nod from the State Cabinet.

The ACB has once again summoned KTR to appear for questioning on January 9. With the Telangana High Court dismissing the quash petition of KTR, the stay on the arrest of the MLA was automatically vacated. The federal probe agency, Enforcement Directorate, which registered a case under PMLA, has also summoned KTR to appear on January 16.