HYDERABAD: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has written to governor Jishnu Dev Varma seeking permission to register a case against BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao over alleged irregularities in payments of Rs 55 crore to the overseas organisers of a Formula E Operations (FEO) race in Feb this year that was later aborted.
Hyderabad had hosted such a race in Feb 2023 as part of its ninth season.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy told TOI that Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had complained to ACB, which initiated the process. The CM stated Rs 55 crore was withdrawn from HMDA and given to FEO without any agreement, board approval, finance department clearance or even cabinet approval.
“How can a minister or officer transfer this much money? I want to know who the final beneficiary is. ACB needs to find out all those involved and who the decision-makers were. Also, Rs 55 crore is not a small amount. This is not a political case. This is a corruption case,” the CM said.
ACB has also sought a nod to probe the role of former MAUD secretary, Arvind Kumar, and other senior officials at the helm of affairs at the time of the project, an agency source said.
ECI nod not sought despite model code
The alleged irregularities came to light after HMDA recently found “the amount was transferred to the Formula E organisers even before signing an agreement and without following due procedures and necessary approvals” from the state govt.
Initially, HMDA had entered into a tripartite agreement with FOE and Ace Nxt Gen to organise racing events during seasons 9, 10, 11 and 12 in Hyderabad. However, after the conclusion of Season 9, Ace Nxt Gen withdrew from the agreement, following which HMDA was made the event promoter.
It has also been alleged that on the instructions of KTR, Rs 55 crore was disbursed to FOE, even without an agreement between both parties. It is further alleged that even when the election code was in force, no approval was taken from the Election Commission for the transfer of the amount.
