Hyderabad: BRS leader B Vinod Kumar on Saturday said the case registered by the ED against party working president K T Rama Rao related to alleged payment irregularities and corruption in conducting Formula-E race in Hyderabad in 2023, does not fall under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).He told PTI that the party would legally challenge the case, asserting that no money laundering had occurred and that the charges had no basis under the PMLA. BRS leader Manne Krishank termed the Formula-E case against Rama Rao, also being probed by the Telangana government’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), as “politically motivated”. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Rama Rao and some others for questioning next month in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged payment irregularities during a Formula-E race held in Hyderabad during previous BRS regime. The federal agency registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) or FIR last week in the case under various sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), taking cognisance of a Telangana Police Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) complaint. Rama Rao, son of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, has been asked to depose for recording his statement on January 7. The probe against 48-year-old Rama Rao pertains to alleged payments of about Rs 55 crore, some of it in foreign currency without approvals, to conduct Formula-E race in Hyderabad in February 2023. Rama Rao has rejected the charges. Rama Rao, who was the municipal administration minister in the BRS regime, was instrumental in hosting the race in Hyderabad last year. Though the race was supposed to be held in February this year as well, it was cancelled after the Congress government assumed office in December 2023. Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma recently granted permission to the ACB to register the case against Rama Rao.
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