Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh notice to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday, directing him to appear before it on January 16 for questioning in connection with the Formula-E race case.
The Central agency issued the notice after the former minister did not appear before the ED earlier in the day on Tuesday (January 7) and sought more time to do so.
The ED had accepted the request of the BRS leader.
The ED’s fresh notice came hours after the Telangana High Court pronounced its order, dismissing K.T. Rama Rao’s petition to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered last month by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar and former Chief Engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) B.L.N. Reddy, who were also booked along with K.T. Rama Rao, have been summoned by the ED on January 8 and 9 respectively.
They were earlier asked to appear on January 2 and 3.
Both sought 2-3 weeks’ time to appear and submit their documents.
The ED is conducting the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on an FIR filed by the ACB.
The Central agency is looking into possible violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The ACB on December 29 booked a case against K.T. Rama Rao and two others for alleged irregularities in organising the Formula E-car race in 2023 when the BRS was in power.
The FIR was 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.
The FIR, registered on a complaint by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Principal Secretary, Dana Kishore alleges irregularities in payments exceeding Rs.54.88 crore made by the HMDA to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and associated entities without adhering to established financial procedures.
According to the FIR, the payments were made to FEO between September and October 2023, despite the FEO terminating its agreement with the Telangana government during the same period.
This amount also incurred a tax liability of Rs. 8.06 crore, which was borne by the HMDA.
A tripartite agreement signed in October 2022 between the Telangana government, FEO, and event sponsor Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd. had limited the State government’s financial responsibility.
The FIR alleged that disputes between FEO and Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd. led to the government assuming financial liability without regulatory approvals, causing losses to the exchequer.
A day after the ACB registered the FIR, the ED also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against K.T. Rama Rao, Arvind Kumar and Reddy.
The ED is also investigating whether financial commitments exceeding Rs. 600 crore for upcoming seasons violated legal and financial protocols.
(IANS)
