(Image source from: Twitter.com/BRSparty)

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against K T Rama Rao, a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, and others. The case is linked to alleged payment irregularities during the Formula-E race held in Hyderabad in February 2023, according to official sources. The Enforcement Directorate has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which is similar to a First Information Report (FIR), under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. This comes after the Telangana Police's anti-corruption bureau (ACB) filed an FIR on Thursday. The accused in the ED case are the same as those mentioned in the ACB FIR. The Telangana High Court has directed the state's ACB to not arrest Rao, a former Telangana minister, until December 30. However, the court has allowed the investigation against the politician to continue and has ordered the ACB to file a response to his petition. The case will now be heard on December 27.

The FIR was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code, with KTR named as the primary accused, and two others as co-accused. The case involves alleged mishandling of funds and unauthorized payments made when KTR was the MAUD minister, in relation to bringing a Formula-E race event to Hyderabad. The FIR claims that KTR did not seek approval from the state cabinet before authorizing the payments, and that the HMDA made Rs 45 crore in payments to the foreign company, Formula-E Organisers, in violation of RBI guidelines. This resulted in the RBI imposing an Rs 8 crore fine on the Telangana government, which was later paid by the subsequent Congress government. The Reserve Bank of India imposed the fine after discovering alleged violations and financial irregularities in the event's management, leading to an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.