The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K.T. Rama Rao and some other persons have been summoned for questioning next month in a money laundering case related to alleged payment irregularities during the Formula-E race to be held in Hyderabad in February 2023. Official sources gave this information on Saturday.
The federal agency had last week filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case registered under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognizance of a complaint by the Telangana Police Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). ECIR is similar to FIR.
Sources said that former Chief Minister of Telangana K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s son and BRS working president Rama Rao has been asked to appear on January 7 to record his statement. KT Rama Rao is popular among the people as KTR.
Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Arvind Kumar and retired bureaucrat and former chief engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) BLN Reddy have been summoned on January 2 and January 3 respectively, he said.
The investigation against Rama Rao (48) pertains to the alleged payment of around Rs 55 crore without approval to organize the Formula-E race in Hyderabad in February 2023 during the previous BRS government, some of which was paid in foreign currency. .
According to sources, the ED is also probing possible forex violations in the case under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Rama Rao denied any wrongdoing and said, ‘Where is the corruption in this? We paid Rs 55 crore. He (Formula-E) accepted the payment.”
