Formula E Race case: KTR to face second round of ACB questioning today
Hyderabad: BRS working president
KT Rama Rao
is set to appear before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday morning for a second round of questioning in connection with alleged financial irregularities related to the Formula E race in Hyderabad.
KTR is accused of the illegal release of funds to the London-based company Formula E Operations (FEO), which was tasked with organising the race.
The ACB served notices to KTR on June 13. He was first questioned in Jan this year and was let off after a day-long inquiry. He has now been summoned again to appear before ACB on Monday.
"I have been summoned by the Anti-Corruption Bureau to appear for 'investigation' on Monday at 10 am in the Formula E case, where Rs 44 crore was transferred from bank to bank, and the money is very much in the account of FE.
As a law-abiding citizen, I will attend and fully cooperate with the ACB officials," KTR posted on X on Friday.
In its FIR, the ACB alleged that the state govt, during the BRS regime in 2023, transferred funds through the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in violation of established procedures. The money was paid to the London-based Formula E Operations (FEO) as the state's share to sponsor the second edition of the race in Hyderabad.
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While the first edition, held in early 2023, was backed by private sponsor Ace Nxt Gen, the company reportedly declined to support the second edition.
At that point, KTR, then the minister for municipal administration and urban development (MAUD), allegedly instructed senior officials in his department to ensure HMDA bore the cost of the second edition. ACB officials say the payment was made without following due process, and despite the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
After the Congress govt came to power, it cancelled the planned second edition of the race and ordered an ACB probe into the matter.
ACB has already questioned officials from the MAUD department, including former principal secretary Arvind Kumar, and representatives from Ace Nxt Gen and FEO.
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