The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) conducted raids on Tuesday at the premises of IAS officer Mr. Arvind Kumar (1991 batch) and former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) employee Mr. BLN Reddy in connection with the Formula E Race case.
Last month, the ACB registered a case against Mr. Arvind Kumar, Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), and Mr. BLN Reddy for alleged irregularities amounting to Rs. 54.88 crores in the Formula E deal. The case was initiated based on a complaint filed by Mr. M. Dana Kishore (1996-batch IAS officer), Principal Secretary to the Government, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department.
The complaint highlighted that foreign remittances were made without obtaining prior approvals from relevant regulatory authorities. This procedural lapse reportedly resulted in an additional tax burden of Rs. 8.06 crore on HMDA. IAS Arvind Kumar, then serving as MA&UD Principal Secretary, stated that the payments were made following verbal orders from KTR, who admitted to instructing the department in the interest of the event.
The FIR was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
The raids and investigations are ongoing as authorities seek to uncover further details about the alleged financial misconduct.
