The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a charge sheet against BRS Working President K T Rama Rao and four others in connection with alleged irregularities in payments linked to the Formula E race, intensifying the probe into decisions taken during the previous BRS government.

The charge sheet, filed in a court here on Monday, names Rama Rao as the prime accused along with senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) chief engineer B L N Reddy, and two others.

The case pertains to alleged procedural violations in the disbursal of around Rs 55 crore, largely in foreign currency, for the Formula E race planned for 2024. Investigators have alleged that the payments were made in violation of laid-down norms.

While the inaugural race was held in Hyderabad in February 2023, the second edition scheduled for 2024 was cancelled after the Congress government assumed office in December 2023.

The ACB had registered a case in December 2024 against Rama Rao, Kumar, and Reddy under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code, invoking charges including criminal misappropriation, breach of trust, and conspiracy.

Prosecution approvals were secured subsequently, with then governor Jishnu Dev Varma granting sanction against Rama Rao in November last year, and the Centre clearing prosecution of Arvind Kumar last month.

Rama Rao has denied the allegations, saying "the decision to transfer funds to the race organisers was taken to promote Hyderabad’s image and there was no corruption involved."

"The money sent by the government lies with the organisers, and there is no corruption in the matter," Rao had claimed.