Model-turned-actor Dino Morea found himself at the center of controversy on Friday, as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials conducted an extensive search of his Bandra residence in connection with the multi-crore Mithi River desilting scam. After nearly 14 hours of search operations and questioning, the ED team exited Morea’s house. Sources say the case may take on political overtones, especially with the upcoming crucial civic polls.
On Friday, ED officials carried out extensive search operations at 15 locations across Mumbai and Kochi, including Morea’s Bandra residence and office premise, in a probe involving senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, private contractors, and middlem.
The ED acted on leads pointing to financial links between Morea and the middlemen arrested in the case. Officials are examining financial transactions involving Morea’s brother’s company, UBO Ridez, which allegedly received Rs 18 lakh from the accused party.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had previously summoned and questioned Dino Morea and his brother twice after uncovering that Morea had known middleman Ketan Kadam for over two decades. Kadam is believed to have played a key role in orchestrating the scam.Financial transactions between Kadam and Morea reportedly raised suspicion, prompting ED officials to conduct searches of the actor's Bandra based residential and official premises.
According to sources, the ED is likely to summon Dino Morea, his brother, and several other key individuals, including the accused BMC assistant engineer Prashant Ramugade, retired deputy chief engineers Ganesh Bendre and Prashant Tayshette, as well as the second middleman.The second middleman, Jayesh Joshi, who was granted bail by the Sessions Court on Thursday in the Mithi River desilting scam case, is the owner of Virgo Specialities. Joshi was arrested last month for his alleged involvement in the scam. The ED conducted a search operation at his premises in Samta Nagar, Kandivali East.
The ED’s search operations extended beyond Mumbai to Kochi, where they targeted Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd, a Kochi-based company that allegedly supplied desilting machinery to contractors appointed by the BMC.
Sources further revealed that during the search operations, ED officials examined documents related to movable and immovable assets recovered from the premises of the accused and suspects. Investigators are closely scrutinising details of assets acquired between 2018 and 2022, covering the period during and immediately after the alleged scam.Sources added that the ED has also sought information on the source of funds used for these purchases. The investigation aims to determine whether these assets were acquired using proceeds of crime from the alleged Rs 65 crore scam.
Mithi River is an 18.64-km seasonal river with residential slum pockets and industrial patches alongside it. It plays the role of a natural stormwater drainage channel for Mumbai, carrying excess water during the monsoon. But, over the years, it has been used by residents to dump garbage, sewage, and industrial waste, polluting it to a significant level.
After the 2005 Mumbai floods, the authorities realised the issues with the Mithi River, and the government put in efforts to clean the sludge from the riverbed to ensure uninterrupted water flow. It has been alleged that massive corruption occurred in the desilting work sanctioned and carried out by the BMC.investigations by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagged irregularities, including favoritism in tenders and inflated billing, potentially causing massive financial losses to the BMC.
Last month, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the EOW of Mumbai police had booked 13 people, including five private contractors, three BMC officials, three middlemen, and two private company officials, for causing wrongful loss to the civic body worth more than Rs 65.54 crore in the alleged scam. Desilting work contracts worth nearly Rs 1,100 crore are under the scanner.
The EOW had booked the accused for causing wrongful loss to the civic body amounting to over Rs 65.54 crore. Based on the EOW’s predicate offence, the ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) last month and initiated a money laundering investigation.
Sources said the ED is scrutinising the flow of funds and the involvement of shell companies allegedly used to route money linked to fake desilting claims. The agency suspects that large sums were siphoned off through forged documents and inflated bills submitted during the Mithi River cleanup drives.
Investigations revealed that engineers from the Storm Water Drain (SWD) division allegedly cleared contractor bills based on false weighbridge receipts and forged Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) related to sludge dumping sites. The EOW probe found that contractors submitted at least nine fake MoUs, systematically using forged documentation to siphon off civic funds earmarked for flood mitigation desilting work on the Mithi River.
The EOW FIR stated that the accused BMC officers of the SWD division, without verifying the authenticity of dumping sites mentioned in fabricated MoUs submitted by contractor firms, facilitated undue financial gains. It further alleged that SWD officials caused financial loss to the BMC by approving bills based on fake weighbridge receipts and falsified log sheets.
ED officials are closely scrutinising financial transactions related to desilting contracts. According to sources, shell companies were allegedly floated to route laundered funds, with several suspicious transactions under examination.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the EOW has already arrested two middlemen, Ketan Kadam and Jayesh Joshi. Joshi owns Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, while Kadam is associated with Vodar India LLP. The EOW seized electronic devices from Kadam and copies of posting orders of officials in the BMC’s SWD department.
Officials indicated that more arrests may follow as investigations by the EOW and ED expand into alleged misuse of public funds and procedural violations in civic projects.
