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ACB grills Arvind Kumar for 5 hrs in Formula-E case
Former MA&UD (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) Secretary Arvind Kumar revealed details of the alleged irregularities in the Formula-E race case during questioning by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday.
Hyderabad: Former MA&UD (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) Secretary Arvind Kumar revealed details of the alleged irregularities in the Formula-E race case during questioning by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also recorded statements from HMDA engineer BLN Reddy in connection with the same case.
The ACB questioned the senior IAS officer for over five hours at the state head office. A five-member ACB team posed several questions to Arvind Kumar, seeking crucial information regarding the case. Sources suggest that Arvind Kumar admitted that former Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao had instructed him to release the funds from the HMDA account without the concurrence of the state Finance department. These funds were subsequently paid to the racing agency. The ACB officials questioned Arvind Kumar about KTR's role in the alleged financial irregularities surrounding the Hyderabad Formula-E race held in February 2023.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Rs 45.7 crore was transferred to the Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) between September and October 2023, after the termination of the agreement between the FEO and the Telangana government. This amount also incurred a tax liability of Rs 8.06 crore, which was borne by the HMDA.
Based on the available evidence, the ACB registered an FIR against KT Rama Rao, Arvind Kumar, and former Chief Engineer of HMDA BLN Reddy, accusing them of irregularities in the payments made by the HMDA to FEO and related entities, bypassing established financial procedures.
Official sources revealed that Arvind Kumar provided significant details about the payments made to the UK-based racing company without following proper procedures, which created a financial burden for the HMDA in maintaining financial discipline.
BLN Reddy also clarified his role in the release of funds, stating that he had merely followed the instructions of his superior, Arvind Kumar, and had approved the payment. Reddy further shared the communication exchanged with the bank regarding the fund transfer to the racing company.
Sources indicated that the Central agency plans to gather more information from the involved officials in future rounds of questioning.
