Formula E race case: Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar appears before ACB, B.L.N Reddy appears before ED

Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and former chief engineer BLN Reddy appear beforeACB and ED respectively in connection with alleged irregularities in the formula-e race deal case.

Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, former special chief secretary to Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), appeared before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) headquarters in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad on Wednesday (January 8, 2025) morning for quizzing in connection with alleged financial irregularities during the Hyderabad Formula-E race in February 2023.

Meanwhile, former chief engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), B.L.N. Reddy, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the case registered by the agency.

The two officials were earlier summoned by the ED on January 2 and 3. Following their request, the ED gave time and issued fresh notices to them, asking to appear on January 8 and 9.

This comes about three weeks after the ACB booked a case with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former IT minister 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.

According to the FIR, ₹45.7 crore was remitted to FEO between September and October 2023, despite FEO terminating its agreement with the Telangana government during the same period. This amount also incurred a tax burden of ₹8.06 crore, which was borne by 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. However, the FIR alleges 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.