Formula E race case: Telangana Guv gives nod for prosecution of BRS leader K T Rama Rao

Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Verma on Thursday granted consent to the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to prosecute BRS working president and MLA KT Rama Rao in the alleged irregularities surrounding the Formula E race project.

The case pertains to alleged unauthorised payments of about Rs 55 crore, much of it in foreign currency, made during the previous BRS regime for the event that was planned in February 2024 but cancelled after the Congress government assumed office in December 2023.

After a nine-month investigation, the ACB wrote to the Governor on September 9 seeking permission to prosecute the former minister. The consent has now been received after ten weeks. The agency is also awaiting clearance from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to proceed against senior IAS officer and the then Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) secretary Arvind Kumar, another accused in the case. Once the approval is obtained, a chargesheet will be filed against KTR, Arvind Kumar, former HMDA chief engineer BLN Reddy, who is another accused in the case.

Officials said the ACB has questioned KTR four times and Arvind Kumar at least five times, collecting key documents, emails, and digital records allegedly linking KTR to the financial transactions. According to sources, the probe agency has traced evidence suggesting that Formula E sponsors contributed nearly Rs 40 crore to the BRS through electoral bonds in a quid pro quo arrangement.

The ACB probe found that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) transferred Rs 45 crore to the event sponsors, including Rs 10 crore as a “conversion fee.” The FIR, registered in December 2023, named KTR as the prime accused, followed by Arvind Kumar and Reddy. They were booked under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Sections 409 and 120(B) of the IPC.

The FIR stated that Rs 55 crore was released in two installments to the foreign organiser, Formula E Operations Limited (FEO), in violation of RBI norms. The RBI later imposed a Rs 8 crore penalty on the Telangana government for the unauthorised transaction, which the Congress government paid after coming to power.

KTR, however, in the past dismissed the allegations as “bogus,” asserting that he was ready to undergo a lie detector test to prove his innocence.