Hyderabad, Dec 25: In a key development in the Formula-E race case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has recorded the statement of complainant M. Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development.
With the recording of the statement, the anti-graft agency has prepared the ground for issuing notices to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister K. T. Rama Rao, senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) former chief engineer B. L. N. Reddy.
On a complaint by Dana Kishore, the ACB on December 19 booked a case for alleged irregularities in organising the Formula E-car race last year. This followed permission given by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at a request by the state government. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act on allegations of financial irregularities in conducting the Formula-E race when BRS was in power.
The complainant alleged a payment of over Rs 54.88 crore was made to UK-based Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and others in "gross violation of established procedures". It is alleged that at the direction of then industry minister Rama Rao, the HMDA transferred money to FEO in violation of RBI guidelines. The payment was allegedly made without obtaining approvals from the Cabinet or the Finance Department.
The ACB registered the FIR registered under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Sections 409 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code. KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, denied the allegations of corruption and accused the Congress government of political vendetta. He claimed that the Formula-E race was hosted to make Telangana the hub of electric vehicles.
KTR on Friday filed a quash petition in Telangana High Court. In its interim order on the petition, the High Court barred ACB from arresting KTR till December 30. While granting relief to KTR, the court allowed the ACB to continue the investigation in the case. The court adjourned the hearing to December 27. Day after the ACB registered FIR, the Enforcement Directorate also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against KTR, Arvind Kumar and B.L.N. Reddy.
The ED is likely to issue notices after Monday to appear before the ED officials for questioning in the case. The ED is probing the allegations of violations of PMLA and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in transferring money to a foreign entity. The agency is likely to proceed in the case after recording statements of KTR, Arvind Kumar and B. L. N. Reddy.