Formula-E case: Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar appears before ED for questioning

Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar appears for questioning by ED in Hyderabad for alleged financial irregularities in Formula-E Race deal.

Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarters in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad on Thursday (January 9, 2025) morning. The official was summoned in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the Formula-E Race deal.

This comes a day after former chief engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), B.L.N. Reddy, who was named as the third accused in a FIR lodged by the Anti-Corruption bureau (ACB), said during questioning that he was only following orders from his senior Mr. Kumar.

Investigation into the case has intensified about three weeks after the ACB booked a case with former Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao as an accused based on a complaint by principal secretary M. Dana Kishore. The complaint alleged irregularities in payments exceeding ₹54.88 crore made by the HMDA to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and associated entities without adhering to established financial procedures.

The ED too had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) pertaining to the alleged financial irregularities in Formula E Race deal.

While the ACB is set to question the accused regarding the allegations, the ED is investigating the flow of funds and potential procedural violations.