Hyderabad: The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Secretary, Danakishore, has sent a letter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) requesting an investigation into alleged violations related to the Formula E car race event in Hyderabad.
After Formula E cancels race in Hyderabad, Arvind Kumar gets govt notice
This inquiry sought will focus primarily on unauthorized fund disbursements.
Reports suggest that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) may also get involved due to the international transfer of funds to a foreign company.
Formula E race event in Hyderabad
The Formula E race was held on February 11 of last year around Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, attracting fans from across the country. Following the success of this event, MAUD entered into an agreement with Formula E Operations (FEO) for another race scheduled for February 10, 2024.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) paid Rs 55 crores to FEO as part of this agreement, which was established during the tenure of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.
However, FEO announced its withdrawal from hosting the race last December, citing non-compliance with the terms outlined in their agreement. At the time of the agreement, BRS was in power, while Congress was in control when FEO decided to cancel.
The Congress government has identified alleged regulatory violations in this matter.
Primary allegation
The primary allegation is that payments were made to FEO without obtaining necessary approvals from HMDA board members and the state finance department.
Furthermore, it has been noted that RBI regulations regarding payments to foreign entities were not followed.
In January of this year, a memo was issued by chief secretary Shanti Kumari requesting an explanation from Arvind Kumar, who was serving as MAUD’s Special chief secretary at that time.
In response, Kumar stated that the payments were expedited with the intent of ensuring a swift process and were conducted under the supervision of the MAUD.
Following these developments, Danakishore has formally requested an investigation into all these matters by the ACB.
