A fresh development emerged in Telangana’s Formula E Race matter on Thursday after an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court served summons to former minister KT Rama Rao (KTR), senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar (IAS:1991:TG) and former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) Chief Engineer BLN Reddy in the case.
The court instructed all the accused to appear before it on July 31 regarding alleged irregularities linked to the transfer of nearly Rs 55 crore to a foreign firm during the organisation of the 2023 Formula E event in Hyderabad.
The court has officially accepted the chargesheet, recently submitted by the ACB, for trial proceedings.
As per sources, the chargesheet lists KTR as Accused No. 1, Arvind Kumar as A2, BLN Reddy as A3, sports advisor Kiran Malleswara Rao as A4, and Formula E Operations (FEO) as A5.
The Formula E race conducted in Hyderabad was projected as a prestigious international sporting event intended to enhance the city’s global reputation, but concerns were later raised regarding expenditure, contractual arrangements, and the transfer of funds to the overseas event management company.
Essentially, the controversy surfaced over the transfer of nearly Rs 55 crore from HMDA accounts to the foreign-based Formula E Operations (FEO) company for organising the race event.
The ACB has alleged that the funds were moved without adhering to mandatory government clearances and financial procedures. During the investigation, ACB officials had already questioned KTR, Arvind Kumar, BLN Reddy, and representatives of the FEO company, based on which the ACB filed the chargesheet before the court.