The Union government is reported to have granted its sanction to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to prosecute senior Telangana IAS officer Arvind Kumar (IAS:1991:TG) in connection with the Formula-E car race case. According to reports, the police is yet to make an official announcement about this.
The case involves alleged misappropriation of ₹54.88 crore in public funds.
The ACB had reportedly sought permission to prosecute IAS officer Kumar along with former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) chief engineer B. L. N. Reddy. Kumar was then serving as Special Chief Secretary in the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department. Earlier in the same case, Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma had granted approval to prosecute BRS working president K T Rama Rao.
The case originates from a complaint filed on October 18, 2024, after the Congress government came to power in the state. The complaint was filed by Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department M. Dana Kishore, alleging that a loss of ₹54.88 crore accrued to the State exchequer. According to the complaint, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority released payments to Formula E Operations Limited without obtaining mandatory approvals from the Cabinet or the Finance Department.
The ACB had registered a case on the basis of that complaint against Rama Rao, Arvind Kumar, and B. L. N. Reddy.
As per the FIR, ₹45.7 crore was transferred to Formula E Operations Limited between September and October 2023, even after the company had terminated its agreement with the Telangana government.
According to the ACB, the agreement had capped the government’s financial liability. However, following disputes between the promoter and the event sponsor, the state govt allegedly assumed financial responsibility without required regulatory approvals, leading to significant financial loss.
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