Hyderabad: ACB officials filed the final report in the Formula E car Race case and listed key findings on decisions, approvals and payments linked to the event. They named former minister K.T. Rama Rao as A1, IAS officer Aravind as A2, BLN Reddy as A3 and FEO representatives as A4 and A5. According to officials, KTR alone decided to conduct the Formula E race. The report also says the organisers moved forward without mandatory Telangana government approvals. Officials described the move as a quid pro quo and added that the BRS received ₹44 crore in electoral bonds. They further noted that these e-bonds reached the party even before the tripartite agreement.
The report states that IAS officer Aravind signed two agreements without the Governor’s approval. MA&UD, they said, issued no permissions. Senior leaders, including the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and Finance Minister, received no advance information. Officials stressed that payments and agreements continued during the 2023 Assembly election period despite the model code, and they labelled those actions violations. They also said the state spent ₹20 crore for Season 9 although the tripartite agreement did not include that cost.
ACB final report Formula E highlights gaps in approvals, payments and liabilities
The tripartite agreement did not include HMDA, yet Aravind Kumar and BLN Reddy cleared a ₹46-crore payment to FEO. HMDA later spent ₹54.88 crore for Season 10, officials said. They added that RBI rule violations created an extra burden of ₹8 crore on the agency. A second agreement signed on 30 October 2023, they said, pushed the state’s liability to nearly ₹600 crore for Seasons 10, 11 and 12.
Officials said Ace NXT Gen would have taken these responsibilities if HMDA had not entered the process. They also said KTR cited the Nielsen report to claim ₹700 crore in investments, but no official document carried that figure. Nielsen, they added, did not cooperate with the probe. More findings are expected as the inquiry progresses.
Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma recently granted approval to question KTR. ACB officials said this clearance helped accelerate the investigation.