The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister KT Rama Rao appeared before the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Hyderabad today in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged financial irregularities in organizing the Formula E race in Hyderabad when his party was in power between 2014 and 2023.
Anticipating a large crowd, the police fortified the ACB office in Banjara Hills with additional forces to prevent any untoward incidents. Barricades were set up along key access routes, and traffic diversions were enforced.
Earlier in the morning, KTR held a brief meeting with senior BRS leaders, including T Harish Rao and Balka Suman, with whom he discussed the ongoing legal proceedings. Later, he drove to Nandinagar, where he discussed his case with his father and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Later, he proceeded to the Telangana Bhavan, the BRS headquarters, before heading to the ACB office in a convoy, accompanied by his legal team and a few party leaders, with a heavy police escort.
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Before leaving for the ACB office, KTR stated that he might even be arrested but it would not scare him. “We will continue to question the government on its lapses,” he said, adding that he would appear before the ACB any number of times if called, as he is a law-abiding citizen.
“I am ready to appear not once but even 30 times,” he declared, launching a broadside against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He also said that going to jail would not deter him, recalling his imprisonment during the peak of the Telangana movement.
Outside the ACB office, a few hundred BRS supporters gathered, holding placards and raising slogans in support of KTR. Police ensured they remained at a distance to avoid incidents like the unauthorized rally on 9 January 2025 when he appeared for the first time before the ACB.
Formula E-race case
The case is related to alleged financial irregularities in funding one of the four seasons of the Formula E races in Hyderabad. To conduct the race, the Municipal Administration department under the former BRS government signed a tripartite agreement with Formula E Organisers (FEO) and Ace Nxt Gen Pvt limited in 2022. The ninth season of the car race was held in Hyderabad on 10 and 11 February 2023.
The promoter, Ace Nxt Gen, who was supposed to finance four seasons of the Formula E Race, dropped out unilaterally in the second season, citing losses in the first season. As the FEO was willing to organise the second season, the then principal secretary of the Municipal Administration Department Arvind Kumar, on the advice of KTR, who was then the Municipal Administration Minister, transferred to FEO ₹55 crore.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) then transferred the amount after dropping Ace Next Gen as the promoter. The government later included HMDA as the promoter.
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The HMDA then entered into an MoU with FEO on 30 October 2023 which is considered another irregularity. The other irregularities alleged included making payment of one tranche of money to FEO after the issue of the schedule for Assembly elections in Telangana without obtaining permission from the Election Commission and making payment to FEO in pounds without obtaining clearance from the RBI.
The FIR was filed under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Sections 409 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also initiated a parallel probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
However, KTR has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that the transactions were transparent and aimed at elevating Hyderabad’s global profile.
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