HYDERABAD: The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) raided Ace Nxt Gen Pvt Ltd and two other companies in Hyderabad, and Machilipatnam in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday in connection with the Formula E race case.
The ACB is probing the alleged illegal transfer of 55 crore to Formula E Operations (FEO) during the planning of the second edition of Formula E race.
ACB officials have said that Ace Nxt Gen, the company which entered into a tripartite agreement to sponsor the first edition of the race in Hyderabad, actually got a loan of 90 crore from its alleged sister company, Ace Urban Developers, prior to sponsoring the event.
ACB officials said this financial transaction came under its scanner during their searches on Tuesday. After sponsoring the first edition of the race, Ace Nxt Gen backed out from sponsoring the 2nd edition, which led to govt taking the responsibility of hosting the event.
The tripartite agreement was signed between Ace Nxt Gen, UK-based Formula E Operations (FEO), and Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MAUD).
As part of the probe, officials searched the offices of Ace Urban Developers, Ace Gen Urban Race, and Ace Nxt Gen. "We suspect that the three are sister companies. Though Ace Nxt Gen signed the agreement for the first season, they got a loan from Ace Urban Developers. After visiting their Machilipatnam office, we realised most of their operations take place from their different offices located in Madhapur. Many of the directors of these three companies were found to be common," a source privy to the investigation told TOI.
The verification was done to ascertain if there was any quid pro quo between the accused and the sponsoring companies. The searches continued till Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, former special chief secretary (MAUD) Arvind Kumar, who is one of the accused, is expected to appear before the ACB after being summoned. Investigators have already obtained a search warrant against all the accused, including Arvind Kumar, from a local court, but so far not availed it.
ACB had registered a criminal case based on a complaint by principal secretary (MAUD) Dana Kishore, who accused KTR, Arvind Kumar, and HMDA former chief engineer BLN Reddy of allegedly misappropriating 55 crore, by illegally transferring the money to UK-based FEO.
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