Formula E Case: ED summons BRS leader K.T. Rama Rao and top officials

The minister has been asked to appear before the ED on January 7, 2025. Senior IAS officer and Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar, along with former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) Chief Engineer B.L.N. Reddy, have also been summoned to appear on January 2 and 3, respectively. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao in connection with the ongoing probe into alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Formula E project. The ED had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) on December 20, 2024.

The minister has been asked to appear before the ED on January 7, 2025. Senior IAS officer and Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar, along with former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) Chief Engineer B.L.N. Reddy, have also been summoned to appear on January 2 and 3, respectively.

This follows the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on December 19, 2024. The FIR was based on a complaint by Principal Secretary M. Dana Kishore, alleging irregularities in payments exceeding ₹54.88 crore during the Hyderabad Formula E race held in February 2023.

According to the FIR, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) made payments to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and associated entities without following established financial procedures. The complaint states that ₹45.7 crore was remitted to FEO between September and October 2023, despite FEO terminating its agreement with the Telangana government in the same period. Additionally, the payments incurred a tax burden of ₹8.06 crore, which was borne by HMDA.

A tripartite agreement signed in October 2022 between the Telangana government, FEO, and Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd., the sponsor, had limited the state government’s financial liability. However, the FIR alleges that when disputes arose between FEO and Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd., the government assumed financial responsibility, bypassing regulatory approvals and causing a loss to the exchequer.